Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what proportion of Civil Service positions in his Department was vacant for a week or longer in each year since 2010; and what the average turnover rate for civil servants in his Department has been in each year since 2010.

Sir Patrick McLoughlin: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet office on 16 March 2017 to PQ66684.

HM Treasury

National Insurance Contributions: Self-employed

Ian Murray: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) self-employed people in Scotland, (b) Scotland's economy and (c) the UK's economy of the measures announced in Spring Budget 2017 to increase Class 4 national insurance contributions to 10 per cent from April 2018 and 11 per cent from April 2019.

Jane Ellison: Following the Chancellor’s oral statement in the House of Commons on 15 March, the Government will no longer be proceeding with the changes announced at Spring Budget 2017 to increase Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) in April 2018 and April 2019. The abolition of Class 2 NICs will continue as announced in April 2018 meaning 3.6 million people will gain on average £135 per year. No self-employed person will have to pay more NICs as a result of these changes.

National Insurance Contributions: Self-employed

Callum McCaig: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people paying Class 4 National Insurance Contributions in (a) Aberdeen South and (b) Scotland.

Jane Ellison: In Scotland, we estimate there are 55,000 individuals paying class 4 National Insurance contributions. 2,100 are in Aberdeen South. These estimates are based on the 2014-15 Survey of Personal Incomes.

National Insurance Contributions: Self-employed

Conor McGinn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average change will be in national insurance contributions for self-employed people in (a) St Helens North, (b) North West and (c) the UK will be after the new rate announced in the Spring Budget 2017.

Tim Farron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people will pay more in national insurance contributions (NICs) as a result of changes to rates for Class 2 and Class 4 NICs due to be implemented in April 2018 by (a) region and (b) constituency.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Hendon constituency his Department estimates will be affected by the proposed increase to Class 4 national insurance contributions.

Jane Ellison: Following the Chancellor’s oral statement in the House of Commons on 15 March, the Government will no longer be proceeding with the changes announced at Spring Budget 2017 to increase Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) in April 2018 and April 2019. The abolition of Class 2 NICs will continue as announced in April 2018 meaning 3.6 million people will gain on average £135 per year. No self-employed person will have to pay more NICs as a result of these changes.

Treasury: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many contracts procured by his Department and its arms-length bodies are covered by TUPE regulations in each of the last three financial years.

Simon Kirby: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

National Insurance Contributions: Self-employed

Tim Farron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on self-employed women of the increase in Class 4 National Insurance contributions announced in the Spring Budget 2017.

Jane Ellison: As the Chancellor announced in his statement to the House of Commons on the 15th of March, the Government will no longer be proceeding with the changes announced at Spring Budget 2017 to increase Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) in April 2018 and April 2019. The abolition of Class 2 NICs will continue as announced in April 2018.

Tax Yields: Charities

Jo Churchill: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total annual revenues were from all land-based accident and rescue charities across the UK for each financial year since 2012.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on total tax revenues from charities that can be broken down to this level of detail.

Treasury: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, hehow many contracts procured by his Department and its arms-length bodies require that the contractor pays those of its employees undertaking the work contracted for the real living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in each of the last three financial years.

Simon Kirby: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Government believes that people have the right to a higher wage and not to be punished by higher taxes. As part of this, from April 2016, we introduced a new mandatory National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 25 and above, and this will rise to £7.50 an hour in April 2017. We insist that employers pay at least the National Minimum Wage.

Offshore Fixed Structures: North Sea

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of decommissioning north sea oil and gas platforms over the next 10 years.

Jane Ellison: There is considerable uncertainty in the costs, timing and the duration of decommissioning activity in the UK. The estimated Exchequer cost of the decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas infrastructure over the period 2015 to 2041 is £16 billion (nominal), as presented in Section 8.3 of HM Revenue and Customs’ annual report and accounts 2014-15: www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

Credit Reference Agencies

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of reasons for the 86 per cent increase in complaints to the Financial Ombudsman on the activities of credit reference agencies between 2014-15 and 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Kirby: This question has been passed on to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS will reply to directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Video Games: Tax Allowances

Tom Watson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have claimed video games tax relief in each financial year since 2014; and in which regions of the UK those companies are located.

Jane Ellison: Tax relief was claimed for 45 video games with a financial year of completion of 2014-15 and for 65 video games with a financial year of completion of 2015-16. The limited number of returns means it is not possible to present regional statistics while maintaining the standards of HM Revenue and Customs’ statistical disclosure controls.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who missed the 31 January 2017 deadline for submitting tax returns.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs estimate that around 790,000 customers failed to submit their online Self Assessment tax return by the 31 January 2017 deadline. This is roughly 7% of the returns that were due by 31 January 2017.

Private Finance Initiative

Justin Tomlinson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the amount of additional liability to the taxpayer above the initial cost of completed private finance initiative projects.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has published the total liability for all projects procured through the former Private Finance Initiative and current Private Finance 2 initiative on an annual basis. The latest data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-and-private-finance-2-projects-2016-summary-data

UK Trade with EU

Tim Farron: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential cost of updating the incoming Customs Declaration Service in order to cope with customs declarations once the UK leaves the EU customs union.

Jane Ellison: The new Customs Declarations Service is designed to accommodate increased volumes in customs declarations, including any arising as a consequence of the UK’s departure from the European Union. HM Revenue and Customs continues to monitor the position.

HomeServe: Regulation

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulation of HomeServe insurance services.

Simon Kirby: HomeServe is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an insurance intermediary. The FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. It is for the FCA to determine the regulatory framework for firms it supervises and to assess the adequacy of that framework.

Department for Work and Pensions

Housing Benefit: Young People

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many 18 to 21 year olds claimed housing benefit in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Newport West constituency in each of the last seven financial years.

Caroline Nokes: Information on the caseload of 18-21 year olds claiming Housing Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance in the requested areas is available on DWP Stat-Xplore.

Child Maintenance Service: Fees and Charges

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many application fees to the Child Maintenance Service have been refunded after it became clear that the parent with care was a victim of domestic violence in the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: Around a third of applications to the Child Maintenance Service benefit from a waiver of the application fee due to domestic violence. There are only two specific circumstances in which the Department can repay the application fee after payment:where a qualifying child dies following the payment of the application fee but before a maintenance calculation is made if, as a result of this, no maintenance calculation is made; andwhere the Secretary of State withdraws a notice to close a case on the 1993 or 2003 schemes. From March 2016 to February 2017, 48 cases with application fees had the fees repaid on the Child Maintenance Scheme.

Social Security Benefits: Epilepsy

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the daily living activity 2 of the personal independence payment assessment, how many people with epilepsy have scored points on descriptors c, d, e or f for (a) new claims and (b) disability living allowance reassessments in (i) each year before November 2016 and (ii) the period since November 2016.

Penny Mordaunt: The two tables below give statistics on the number of people with main disabling condition epilepsy who scored c, d, e or f on Activity 2 (“Taking Nutrition”) of their assessment for Personal Independence payment (PIP) for both new claimants and DLA reassessments. Table 1 – Number of new claimants each calendar year that scored c, d, e or f on Activity 2 of their PIP assessment New claims2013201420152016 (to 31st October)1st November 2016-28th February 2017Number scoring c, d, e or f on Activity 2705501706010 Table 2 – Number of DLA reassessment claimants each calendar year that scored c, d, e or f on Activity 2 of their PIP assessmentDLA Reassessments201420152016 (to 31st October)1st November 2016-28th February 2017Number scoring c, d, e or f on Activity 223020025070Data beyond 28th February 2017 is not readily available; preparing it would require us to link together several complex datasets and take steps to assure the quality of the results.

Taxation: Fraud

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) prosecutions for misrepresentation and (b) referrals to HM Revenue and Customs for tax and fraud have occurred in connection with Child Maintenance Support cases since the specialist Financial Investigation Unit was introduced into the 2012 child maintenance scheme.

Caroline Nokes: As at March 2017 we have not yet completed prosecution action on any Child Maintenance Service (CMS) cases for misrepresentation, however there are 678 cases where we have taken formal investigative action to confirm representations of income. Of these we have conducted 10 interviews under caution with a further 25 scheduled, some of which may result in prosecution. Since the Financial Investigation Unit was introduced to the CMS there have been 38 referrals to HM Revenue and Customs where we believe there to be evidence of fraud.

Unemployed People: Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to ensure that every jobcentre has available information leaflets on suicide prevention.

Damian Hinds: We have systems in place to ensure that Jobcentre staff can identify customers at risk of suicide or self harm and refer them to appropriate local sources of help.

Jobcentres: East Ham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on clients with sensory and mobility impairments, and those unable to travel independently of the closure of East Ham Jobcentre Plus.

Damian Hinds: Throughout the development of the proposals for East Ham Jobcentre the department has been mindful of the impact on staff and customers as part of its duties under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. Statistical analysis of the potential impact of the proposals on people with the protected characteristics has informed high-level decision-making so far. As we obtain further local, site-specific information we will ensure any issues identified are also taken fully into consideration when the final decisions are made. Existing DWP processes make provision for those unable to travel independently to their designated Jobcentre.

Jobcentres: East Ham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the closure of East Ham Jobcentre Plus on people in the local area trying to find work.

Damian Hinds: Throughout the development of these proposals, the department has been mindful of the impact on staff and customers as part of its duties under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. Statistical analysis of the potential impact of the proposals on people with the protected characteristics has informed high-level decision-making so far. As we obtain further local, site-specific information we will ensure any issues identified are also taken fully into consideration when the final decisions are made. Subject to further consideration of the proposal we hope to relocate all 31 staff and services from the current East Ham Jobcentre to Barking where we will continue to offer the same level of service to customers and claimants. The new site at Barking is 1.6 miles from the existing site and Jobcentre Plus is able to reimburse travel costs for those claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance or the equivalent claimants in Universal Credit for any attendance above their fortnightly signing appointment. In addition, those claiming Employment and Support Allowance and Income Support are not generally required to attend their local Jobcentre regularly In addition, our merged Jobcentres will continue to offer internet access to support claimants and we are working with local authorities as part of our ongoing partnership to improve digital access and capability. Where we are proposing to close a jobcentre we are taking all possible precautions to minimise disruption for customers, and vulnerable people will receive home visits and have the opportunity to make postal claims.

Jobcentres: Closures

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobcentres were closed in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Damian Hinds: In 2014/15 DWP closed 17 jobcentres, of which 4 were not relocated or co-located; and in 2015/16 closed 16 of which 6 were not relocated or co-located.

Children: Maintenance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of parents were under (a) Direct Pay and (b) Collect and Pay schemes in each year of the operation of the (i) Child Support Agency and (ii) Child Maintenance Service.

Caroline Nokes: i) For the Child Support Agency, the requested information relates to Maintenance Direct and the Collection Service as the service types for the 1993 and 2003 Child Maintenance Schemes. DateVolumeProportions (%)Collection Service4Maintenance DirectCollection ServiceMaintenance DirectMarch 20031903,60091,500919March 2004921,50086,100919March 2005960,70093,500919March 20061,020,600112,8009010March 20071,048,700132,3008911March 200821,083,200153,9008812March 20091,079,700165,3008713March 20103981,000169,8008515March 2011971,600174,1008515March 20121,159,800172,0008713March 20131,196,400181,9008713March 20141,206,500185,0008713March 20151,151,300181,5008614March 20161,081,900138,6008911Note:1) Figures are provided from 2003 onwards as figures before this date do not include off system cases and it would be disproportionate cost to try and attain these figures.2) Figures from April 2008 onwards reflect the performance of cases off system and cases where a payment has been made manually as well as cases on the computer systems.3) A drop in the caseload from March 2010 can be attributed to the removal of suspended cases on the CSCS computer system4) Figures for the Collection Service include all the caseload except Maintenance Direct cases not just those with a current liability. More details can be found on page 4 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics which can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/592860/csa-quarterly-summary-statistics-december-2016.pdf.  ii) For the Child Maintenance Service, the requested information is only available since August 2014 and is provided in the Table below for each year. VolumeMar-15Mar-16Collect & Pay28,60051,800Direct Pay60,100120,500   Proportions (%)  Collect & Pay3230Direct Pay6870 More details can be found on page 8 of the Child Maintenance Scheme quarterly summary of statistics which can be accessed online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/585260/2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme-aug-2013-nov-2017-experimental.pdf. The figures are case based, note that a parent may have more than one case and may have cases on both Direct Pay and Collect and Pay schemes.

Personal Independence Payment

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of how physical conditions which cause significant cognitive and mental health symptoms will be affected by planned changes to mobility activity 1 of the personal independence payment assessment.

Penny Mordaunt: The assessment for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is designed to treat people as individuals, considering the impact of their impairment or health condition on their everyday life and how each claimant has personally adapted to living with a disability. Mobility Activity 1, ‘planning and following a journey’, assesses whether a claimant can plan and navigate a journey by themselves or whether they need support to complete a journey, familiar or unfamiliar. The regulatory changes which came into effect on 16th March 2017 are intended to restore the original policy intent and as such there will be no impact on those with a physical or mental health condition. In fact, at the latest reporting, 27% of PIP recipients with a mental health condition get the enhanced rate mobility component, compared to 9% receiving the higher rate DLA mobility component.

Social Security Benefits: Payments

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the change was in annual social security payments in the UK between 2012 and the projected annual cost by 31 March 2017.

Caroline Nokes: The available information is in the table below. The table shows DWP Annually Managed Expenditure within the current definition of social security payments for Great Britain. Expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. Expenditure £bn2012/132016/17ChangeChange OutturnForecast£bn%Nominal159.9172.712.78.0%Real Terms (2016/17 prices)169.4172.73.31.9% Figures are based on Budget 2017 expenditure as published by the Office for Budget Responsibility on 8 March 2017. Council Tax Benefit, which was part of DWP’s expenditure in 2012/13, has been excluded from the figures to aid comparison.

Children: Maintenance

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans for the referral process by which Child Maintenance Service (CMS) caseworkers can refer new CMS cases and complaints cases to the Financial Investigation Unit to be extended to cover all child maintenance cases.

Caroline Nokes: The full rollout of this process to all Child Maintenance Service teams is on track to complete by June 2017 and at that stage will cover all stages of the Child Maintenance lifecycle, from Applications through to Enforcement.

Universal Credit: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many 18 to 21-year olds resident in (a) the North West and (b) Warrington claim the housing costs element of universal credit.

Caroline Nokes: In December 2016, the number of 18 to 21-year olds claiming the housing costs element, and living in a household on Universal Credit was: (a) 2,800 for those resident in the North West; including (b) 70 resident in Warrington. Where a couple claim Universal Credit and both are between the age of 18 and 21, both have been counted in the above figures. If only one half of a couple is between the age of 18 and 21, only the 18 to 21-year old has been counted.

Children: Maintenance

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department's evaluation of the work of the Financial Investigation Unit in dealing with child maintenance cases within the New Case and Complaints areas of the Child Maintenance Service has been completed.

Caroline Nokes: The pilot is on course to complete in the Spring. We are currently reviewing the empirical evidence to determine how this can best be shared publicly however we have already decided to rollout the process to all teams within the Child Maintenance Service.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people applying for (a) personal independence payments and (b) employment and support allowance have missed a medical assessment in each of the last three years; and how many of those people have lost entitlement to a benefit as a result of that missed assessment.

Penny Mordaunt: Table 1 below shows the number of claimants who failed to attend their Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment. Table 1 – Number of claimants who failed to attend their PIP assessment.Jan 14 - Dec 14Jan 15 - Dec 15Jan 16 - Dec 1648,70073,20095,600 These figures include those claimants who fail to attend their PIP assessment and were subsequently found to have ‘good cause’ for not attending and so considered for another assessment. The Department does not hold on information on those who may have lost entitlement as a result of a missed appointment. In regard to Employment Support Allowance (ESA). The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The Department does collect some information on individuals who failed to attend a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). However, to assess the completeness of recording and quality assure the figures would take in excess of 5 days and therefore incur disproportionate cost. The Department publishes statistics on the outcomes of initial WCAs, including the volumes of those who were found Fit for Work and those whose claim closed before the assessment took place. These categories will include any individuals who lost entitlement due to failure to attend their WCA but will also include cases where the recorded outcome was due to a different reason. The latest published figures are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-december-2016

Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to daily living activity 3 of the personal independence payment assessment, how many people with multiple sclerosis who received a daily living award scored points on descriptor b for (a) new claims and (b) disability living allowance reassessments in each year before October 2016.

Penny Mordaunt: The two tables below give statistics on the number of people receiving a daily living award with main disabling condition multiple sclerosis who scored b on Activity 3 of their assessment for Personal Independence payment (PIP) for both new claimants and DLA reassessments. Table 1 – Number of new claimants each calendar year receiving a daily living award that scored b on Activity 3 of their PIP assessmentNew claims2013201420152016 (to 30th September)Number scoring b on Activity 37011201080560 Table 2 – Number of DLA reassessment claimants each calendar year receiving a daily living award that scored b on Activity 3 of their PIP assessmentDLA Reassessments201420152016 (to 30th September)Number scoring b on Activity 32409303140

Work Capability Assessment: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work capability assessment appeals have been made by people in Dorset in the last year for which information is available; and what percentage of those appeals have been successful.

Penny Mordaunt: In the period 1.4.2016 – 28.2.2017, the number of Employment Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment (ESA WCA) appeals that have been made by people in Dorset in the last year is 151. Information about the outcomes is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the mobility activity 1 of the personal independence payment assessment, how many people with multiple sclerosis who received a mobility award scored points on descriptor b for (a) new claims and (b) disability living allowance reassessments in each year before October 2016.

Penny Mordaunt: The two tables below give statistics on the number of people receiving a mobility award with main disabling condition multiple sclerosis who scored b on Activity 11 (mobility activity 1) of their assessment for Personal Independence payment (PIP) for both new claimants and DLA reassessments. Table 1 – Number of new claimants each calendar year receiving a mobility award that scored b on Activity 11 of their PIP assessmentNew claims2013201420152016 (to 30th September)Number scoring b on Activity 1130560240100 Table 2 – Number of DLA reassessment claimants each calendar year receiving a mobility award that scored b on Activity 11 of their PIP assessmentDLA Reassessments201420152016 (to 30th September)Number scoring b on Activity 11110180380

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Dr James Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a person who has been assessed for employment and support allowance or personal independent payments is entitled to a copy of the computer file report created by the HCP during their assessment process.

Penny Mordaunt: A person who has been assessed for either Employment Support Allowance or Personal Independence Payment can ask to see a copy of their assessment report at any time after its completion. They can do this by telephone, in writing or in person.

Social Security Benefits: Refugees

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2017 to Question 63202, on jobcentres: refugees, and with reference to his Department's internal review in 2016, what the reasons were for refugees not applying for benefits sufficiently early to enable their benefit claim to be processed before their asylum assistance ceased; and what steps are being taken in the Government's pilot project to alleviate or prevent those reasons arising.

Damian Hinds: There are many reasons as to why a refugee, once granted status, may not immediately make a claim to benefit. The process we are currently piloting involves a facilitated transfer for those who have been granted leave to remain in the UK, from asylum support to mainstream welfare provision, encouraging them to make contact with DWP at the earliest opportunity. The pilot has been extended until the end of March 2017 and will then be evaluated to determine if this additional support has resulted in an application to benefits being received sufficiently early to enable it to be processed before the refugee’s asylum support ceases. DWP will write to the Work and Pensions Select Committee with an update later this year.

Jobcentres: East Ham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what arrangements will be put in place for liaison between Barking Jobcentre Plus and Newham Workplace after the closure of East Ham Jobcentre Plus.

Damian Hinds: The relocation of the Jobcentre at East Ham to Barking which is 1.6 miles away is still only a proposal at this time. Where we are proposing to close a jobcentre we are taking all possible precautions to minimise disruption for customers and claimants and we are now collecting local, site-specific information which will be reflected in the final business case and taken fully into consideration when the final decision is made. Should the decision be made to close East Ham Jobcentre, the Department will continue to work with the Local Authority to ensure any claimant impacted will still have access to support provided by Workplace. Should this involve fares to another Jobcentre, consideration will be made as appropriate on the use of the flexible support fund.

Social Rented Housing: Housing Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2017 to Question 60098, what progress has been made on amending the regulations governing the under-occupancy penalty.

Caroline Nokes: The regulations in relation to two Supreme Court judgments concerning the removal of the spare room subsidy were laid on 2 March 2017 and will come into force on 1 April 2017. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/213/pdfs/uksi_20170213_en.pdf From this date an additional bedroom will be allowed, subject to certain criteria, where a disabled child or adult non-dependant requires a non-resident overnight carer (or team of carers); or where a couple one of whom (or both) are disabled and those disabilities prevent them from sharing a bedroom.

Home Office

Members: Correspondence

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Dewsbury of 10 February 2017 on child refugees.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I responded to the hon. Member's letter on 14 March 2017.

Antisemitism: Publications

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on the fact that books denying the Holocaust are available to buy on Amazon UK.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contact she has had with Amazon to discuss the fact that books denying the Holocaust are available to buy on Amazon UK.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to prevent the sale of books denying the Holocaust on Amazon UK.

Sarah Newton: The Government deplores attempts to deny the Holocaust, including those views expressed in a pseudo-intellectual manner, and condemns any organisation or individual that does so. If Holocaust denial is expressed in a way that is threatening, abusive, or insulting and incites racial hatred, or is likely to do so, then that would be unlawful under the Public Order Act 1986.DCLG officials attend the Cyber Hate Crime working group where Amazon is represented and will raise these issues with them at the next meeting.

Refugees: Children

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has commissioned research into whether the Dubs scheme for unaccompanied child refugees encouraged people trafficking.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The migration crisis has shown that pull factors, such as policy changes and political messaging, can influence the movements of migrants. We are clear that we do not want to incentivise perilous journeys to Europe, particularly by the most vulnerable children. It is for this reason that section 67 is a one–off commitment and only children present in Europe before 20 March 2016 are eligible.The Government takes the issue of people trafficking extremely seriously and that is why we have commissioned Caroline Haughey to examine the effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Act. Furthermore, the Prime Minister has set up a new Modern Slavery Taskforce to drive improvements to the operational response to trafficking and slavery. This work will support the Government to build on our existing far-reaching approach to tackling people trafficking.

Asylum: Advisory Services

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2017 to Question 65370, on asylum: advisory services, what qualifications are needed, other than registration with the General Medical Council, to be an Asylum Support Medical Advisor; how many such advisors were registered with the General Medical Council in 2016; and whether her Department has any contracts with companies to provide such advisors.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The provision of Asylum Support Medical Advice has principally been provided by Now Medical and payment is made on a case by case basis. The Home Office does not retain information on the number of advisors registered or the qualifications of individual practitioners.

Asylum: Advisory Services

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2017 to Question 65370, on asylum: advisory services, what procedures govern (a) whether caseworkers should refer medical evidence to an Asylum Support Medical Advisor and (b) how that caseworker assesses the advice provided by that advisor.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The full policy and guidance on the Asylum Support Medical Adviser (ASMA) is set out in the Healthcare Needs and Pregnancy Dispersal instruction which is published:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthcare-needs-and-pregnancy-dispersal-instruction

Police: Dogs

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether attacks on police dogs will no longer be classed as damage to property and be treated as an aggravated attack on a sentient being; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: This Government is clear that an attack on a police animal is a very serious offence and while severe penalties are already in place to punish those who commit such crimes I am exploring with Ministerial colleagues and police leaders whether there is more that the law should do to offer the most appropriate protections to police and all other working animals.I am also pleased to see that Sentencing Guidelines were updated 24 January 2017 and now include a new aggravating factor of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal being used in public service or as an assistance dog under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Visas: Overseas Visitors

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many standard visitor visas to the UK were (a) granted and (b) refused, in each month since January 2016 for (i) Bangladeshi, (ii) Indian, (iii) Pakistani and (iv) Sri Lankan citizens.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Information on the number of all visit visa applications, grants, refusals, withdrawals and lapsed cases is published quarterly; latest data in the Home Office’s ‘Immigration Statistics, October - December 2016’, Visa data tables volume 1, table vi_01_q, and volume 3 (grants broken down by nationality) table vi_06_q_o , available from the https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2016/list-of-tables#visas

Asylum: Housing

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 65944, on asylum, for what reasons her Department set a 19-day target within which asylum seekers should move from initial accommodation to dispersed accommodation; and how her Department records the transfer of asylum seekers to dispersed accommodation from initial accommodation.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The transfer of asylum seekers from initial accommodation to dispersal accommodation is managed and delivered by individual accommodation providers. The Home Office measures and monitors the performance of suppliers based against a suite of KPIs, including the timeliness and quality of service provision. The 19-day turnaround for dispersal from Initial Accommodation is an internal management expectation based on established process timescales. UKVI monitors the transfer of asylum seekers to dispersed accommodation using a variety of sources.

British Nationality: Assessments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants failed the Life in the UK Test in each month since January 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Data on the number of Life in the UK tests completed, including pass rates, is published on a quarterly basis as part of the Migration Transparency Data release. Quarterly volumes can be found in the table ‘Temporary and permanent migration data’. See tab LUK01. This data can be accessed via the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Asylum: Advisory Services

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2017 to Question 65370, on asylum: advisory services, what steps her Department took to monitor the work of Asylum Support Medical Advisers (ASMAs); what the status is of the current review of her Department's relationship with ASMAs; who is being consulted as part of that review; and when that review is due to be completed.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All referrals to and responses from ASMA are subject to authorisation and oversight by a senior caseworker. The Home Office keeps the work of medical advisors within the immigration system under review.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional resources and funding her Department has been allocated to enable (a) processing permanent residency claims of EU nationals living in the UK and (b) other work as a result of the decision for the UK to leave the EU in the next two years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: UK Visas and Immigration operate flexible staffing resources and deploy staff in line with demands on the service. Currently all EEA applications, including those for permanent residency and for other residence documentation under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, are being considered within the published service standards.

Treaty On the Functioning of the European Union

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, at what stage the infringement proceedings against the UK launched by the European Commission under Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on 11 June 2011 are.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether EU nationals studying in the UK at an (a) undergraduate, (b) post-graduate and (c) doctoral or PhD level are classified as economically non-active as it relates to the need for comprehensive sickness insurance during the time when they reside in the UK (i) for the purposes of applications for permanent residency and (ii) in accordance with Article 7 (1)(b) of Directive 2004/38/ EC if they (A) are and (B) are not affiliated with the NHS.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.EU citizens and their family members have the right to enter, live and acquire permanent residence in other Member States when certain conditions are met, as set out in EU law. Where they are exercising Treaty rights as a student, the EU national is required to hold comprehensive sickness insurance and have sufficient resources so as not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the UK. This is irrespective of the level at which they are studying or whether they are affiliated with the National Health Service (NHS). These conditions must have been met if they then become economically active, and later rely on such periods as a student to qualify for permanent residence.

Asylum: Torture

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training is provided to those who handle and process evidence for asylum claimants who are survivors of torture.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All members of staff who make decisions in asylum, receive training on inter-national and domestic law and safeguarding issues supplemented by a mentoring programme with an experienced caseworker that can last up to 6 months. Within this course there are specific sections that detail torture and Medico Legal Reports and how they should be used and analysed in asylum claims.Asylum Operations recently received funding from the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund to review and redevelop its training prospectus. As part of that work, Asylum Operations is liaising with a range of external stakeholders - including migrant charities and non-governmental organisations - to ensure a robust and effective safeguarding training product.

Repatriation: EU Nationals

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to review previous signed deportation orders concerning EU citizens imprisoned in the UK in cases which the person concerned is still awaiting removal.

Mr Robert Goodwill: This Government is clear that foreign criminals should be deported from the UK wherever it is legal to do so. Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity.

Home Office: Migrant Workers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people employed by her Department are from other EU countries.

Sarah Newton: All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond this point.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applications for permanent residency from EU citizens were successful (a) before and (b) after 23 June 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Statistics on outcomes of applications for documents certifying permanent residence for European Union (EU) nationals are published quarterly in the Immigration Statistics. These include data for documents issued, refusals and applications deemed invalid and hence rejected. The most recent edition (Immigration Statistics October to December 2016, European Economic Area data table ee_02_q,) is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2016/list-of-tables#european-economic-area-eea

Visas

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2017 to Question 66773, whether her Department (a) records, (b) collates and (c) publishes the reasons for which visas are refused which have been set out to the applicant at the time of refusal.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office retains records of visa decisions, including the reasons for refusal, on internal casework systems. This information is not collated in central statistical databases, and is not recorded in a format suitable for publication.

Overseas Students: EEA Nationals

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what options are available to EEA national students who need to travel during the period in which their application to the European Processing Return Service is under consideration and that service has possession of their passport; and if she will take steps to make it possible for such students to submit applications online.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Since 15 September 2016 EEA national students who financially support themselves have been able to submit online applications for a registration certificate or document certifying permanent residence. Online applicants can also use the European Passport Return Service. This service, available via participating local authorities, allows the original passport to be checked and returned immediately to the holder to enable them to travel while their application is being processed. The local authority then submits a certified photocopy of the passport along with the other application papers to the UK Visas & Immigration. Where an application has been submitted using the postal application process, EEA nationals can request return of their passport at any point in the application process using the online form which can be found here:https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/Return_of_Documents.ofml

Immigrants: Employment

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether exemptions exist for fees for biometric residence permits for people affected by changes to the right to work rules made in 2014 which mean that an expired travel document with a valid visa is no longer sufficient proof of right to work.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Bolton South East constituency have been affected by the changes made in 2014 to the right to work rules which mean that an expired travel document with a valid visa is no longer sufficient proof of right to work.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Although the Home Office provides for exceptions to the need to pay application fees in a number of specific circumstances, these exceptions do not extend to those seeking confirmation of status, such as those who apply to transfer their existing status to a biometric residence permit. If we were to waive fees on this basis, it would result in a reduction in income that would have to be made up through charging other customers higher fees. We believe this would be unfair. The exceptions ensure that the Home Office’s immigration and nationality fee structure complies with international obligations (for example, in relation to refugees and persons deriving rights under European law) and wider government policy. . The Home Office does not receive or hold data on the number of people who hold an expired travel document with a valid visa but need to provideacceptable evidence of their right to work to a new employer. In these circumstances the individual is required to apply to the Home Office to transfer their conditions, as a result of which they will receive a biometric residence permit. While the Home Office is processing the application it provides a checking service for employers to verify someone’s right to work so that the ability to start work is not impeded. This change was introduced to simplify and strengthen right to work checks by employers to better prevent illegal working in the UK.

Asylum: Children

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to table AS 08 Q of the Quarterly Immigration Stastics, October to December 2016, how many applications for asylum made during quarter 4 of 2016 were made by unaccompanied children who arrived in the UK (a) under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016, (b) through the Dublin III Regulation and (c) by their own initiative.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The period October to December saw 1,161 asylum claims registered by unaccompanied asylum seeking children. It is not currently possible to provide a breakdown however I have committed to publishing more detailed figures in future data releases.

Asylum: Children

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2017 to Question 65067, on asylum: children, how many places offered by local authorities for unaccompanied child asylum-seekers remained unfilled in each local authority as at 7 March 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We are very grateful for the way in which local authorities have stepped up to provide places for unaccompanied asylum seeking children under the National Transfer Scheme and we will continue to work closely with local authorities to increase participation. All offers of placements for unaccompanied asylum seeking children will be used to fulfil our existing commitments including ensuring a fairer distribution of children between local authorities.

Northern Ireland Office

Economic Situation: Northern Ireland

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the Northern Ireland economy of the UK leaving the EU.

Kris Hopkins: The Secretary of State and I are fully committed to ensuring that as we establish our negotiating position, the unique interests of Northern Ireland are protected and advanced. We are going to make the most of the opportunities that our departure presents to Northern Ireland – getting out into the world and doing business right across the globe, while at home building a UK that works for everyone. We will make a success of our exit from the EU for the whole of the UK including Northern Ireland, which remains a great place for businesses to invest. The fundamentals of the UK economy are strong and will continue to be strong as we negotiate our departure from the EU.

Northern Ireland Office: Migrant Workers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of people employed by his Department are from other EU countries.

Kris Hopkins: The Department does not hold information relating to EU nationals. From the data held at December 2016 on 96 staff, 45% have declared as British citizens, 48% have chosen not to declare their nationality and 7% have declared as other nationalities.

Bomb Disposal: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on the most efficient use of the deployment of army bomb disposal units, particularly when dealing with numerous incidents in the West and North West of Northern Ireland.

Kris Hopkins: The Secretary of State meets regularly with Cabinet colleagues, to discuss issues that directly affect security in Northern Ireland.In Northern Ireland, Ammunition Technical Officers (ATO) are deployed at the request of the PSNI.

Electoral Register: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Electoral Office plans to take to ensure that the Electoral Register for Northern Ireland is up-to-date.

Kris Hopkins: The maintenance of the electoral register in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Chief Electoral Officer. The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland operates a system of continuous verification to ensure the accuracy of the register. Information held on the register is checked against various data streams held by other public bodies on a continuous basis.

Magilligan Prison

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to monitor conditions and morale in Magilligan Prison during the period until a Northern Ireland Justice Minister is appointed.

Kris Hopkins: Following the devolution of Policing and Justice powers in 2010, the Northern Ireland Prison Service has been responsible for the management of, and delivery of services within, the Northern Ireland prison network. Conditions in and morale at Northern Ireland prison establishments receives ongoing close attention from senior officials in the Northern Ireland Prison Service. That continues to be the case during the period until a Justice Minister is appointed.

Department of Health

Developing Countries: Health Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's policy is on supporting clinicians on the export for use in other countries of clinical and management procedures that have been developed in the NHS.

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to use the research base for clinical and management procedure that have been exported by groups of NHS clinicians for use in other countries to inform best practice within the NHS.

David Mowat: The Department is working closely with the Department for International Trade and NHS England to promote the expertise and reputation of National Health Service bodies (and the wider health sector) abroad. This contributes to the health and wellbeing of patients in other countries, protects United Kingdom intellectual property so that the benefits of exported health practice come back into the UK, and generates a return for the NHS.

Heart Diseases

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2017 to Question 63752, on heart diseases: medical treatments, which body will conduct the national cardiac review; and how many staff at that body will be assigned to it.

David Mowat: NHS England will be undertaking a review relating to cardiac services that are within the commissioning remit of Specialised Services during 2017/18. The clinical Chair is Professor Huon Gray, National Clinical Director and Chair of the Specialised Cardiac Clinical Reference Group. He will be supported by staff from the specialised commissioning Directorate as required.

Heart Diseases

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2017 to Question 63752, on heart diseases: medical treatments, when he expects the national cardiac review to begin.

David Mowat: The review is in the early scoping stages and more information can be provided once the scope has been finalised in May-June 2017.

Heart Diseases

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2017 to Question 63752, on heart diseases: medical treatments, when consultation on the national cardiac review will begin; and how long he expects it to last.

David Mowat: The timescales, format and the duration of the consultation will be dependent on the agreed scope of the review.

NHS: Innovation

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how decisions on the Commissioning through Evaluation process will be communicated to (a) patients, (b) hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups and (c) the life sciences sector.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of ending access to procedures which are in the analysis phase of the current Commissioning through Evaluation process on (a) retention of skills among and (b) retraining costs of surgeons.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects patients to be able to receive the treatments currently in the analysis phase of the current Commissioning through Evaluation process.

David Mowat: When Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE schemes) are agreed for implementation, a steering group is established which includes clinicians, patients and patient representatives, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. New schemes are publicised through NHS England’s website, through national Clinical Reference Groups to National Health Service providers, and to potentially eligible patients through discussions during routine NHS clinical care. NHS England also ensures that interested manufacturers and / or pharmaceutical companies are kept informed of the progress of schemes. In addition to national briefings, NHS England's local commissioning teams regularly liaise with clinical commissioning group colleagues on pathways of care where CtE schemes could be potentially introduced. CtE schemes typically aim to deliver new data for treatments that are currently not routinely commissioned by the NHS, due to a lack of sufficient evidence of relative clinical and cost effectiveness. The length of the analysis phase will depend on the follow up measures agreed at the start of the scheme. Once the scheme has completed the ‘recruitment’ phase, no new patients will receive the treatment concerned within the NHS unless or until there is a decision to adopt and publish a revised national clinical commissioning policy. However, patients who consent to be part of a CtE scheme, and who consequently receive treatment during the time limited ‘recruitment’ phase, will continue to receive appropriate follow up clinical care within the NHS. With regard to the retention of skills, a separate impact assessment process is not undertaken at the point at which the time limited recruitment phase for each CtE scheme comes to a planned close. Instead, an impact assessment forms part of NHS England’s standard process when considering either the routine commissioning or decommissioning of a specialised service. The impact assessment (which covers the estimated impact on patients, providers and on cost and activity) forms part of the suite of documents that are consulted upon publicly as part of the development process for new or revised clinical commissioning policies. In addition, a commissioning plan is developed (including any aspects required to enable the successful implementation of a newly commissioned service, such as additional specialist training) for those policies that are ultimately recommended for funding and adoption.

Ambulance Services: North West

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many time ambulances based in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the North West have responded to emergency calls outside the category (i) A and (ii) B response time target in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England publishes data on the performance of ambulance trusts in respect of the number of Category A Red One and Red Two calls responded to within eight minutes and the number of Category A calls resulting in an ambulance arriving at the scene of the incident against the 19 minute standard. This data is published on a monthly basis at both an England national level and at individual ambulance trust level. Latest data for December 2016 for England and London Ambulance Service NHS Trust is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/ Data are not available at constituency or county level.

Health Services: St Helens North

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what costs have been (a) incurred to date and (b) committed for future periods for the development and management of sustainability and transformation plans in St Helens North constituency.

David Mowat: St Helen’s North constituency is part of the Cheshire and Merseyside Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP). Information about spend by constituency level is not held centrally or by the STP.

Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review

Jo Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the Government's response to the accelerated access review.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government is carefully considering the recommendations in the Accelerated Access Review with its key partners and will provide a formal response shortly.

Drugs: Licensing

Jo Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many technology appraisals NICE has undertaken for medicines which have successfully passed through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme; and what the NICE recommendation was for each of those appraisals.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it has published seven technology appraisals on products that have received a positive scientific opinion through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme. Information on NICE’s recommendations for each appraisal is shown in the attached table.



PQ67898 attached table
(Word Document, 15.25 KB)

NHS: Bereavement Counselling

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent in bereavement services in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: This information is not held centrally.

Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what changes to services will take place as a result of the standardisation of walk-in centres, minor injury units and urgent care centres by NHS England.

Mr Philip Dunne: Further detail on the changes to services that will take place will be outlined in the NHS Delivery Plan.

Drugs: Licensing

Jo Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account NICE takes of the fact that medicines have successfully passed through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme due to high unmet medical needs when undertaking technology appraisals.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it takes the opinion provided by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency into account, where it is considered relevant to its recommendations. NICE offers companies the opportunity to meet with NICE and NHS England to discuss feasibility/applicability of proposed plans to collect data during the Early Access to Medicines Scheme period which could inform a NICE evaluation. NICE endeavours to schedule these topics into its work programme as soon as possible, so that it can produce timely guidance.

NHS 111: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what changes will be made to the workforce of NHS 111 to support on-site assessment in care homes; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England and Health Education England are working closely with providers and professional bodies to develop the workforce further within Integrated Urgent Care and National Health Service 111 services through the Workforce Development Programme.

Accident and Emergency Departments: General Practitioners

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs will be employed in staffing the comprehensive front door streaming model at accident and emergency departments from October 2017; and what assessment he has made of the capacity of the GP workforce to meet that demand.

Mr Philip Dunne: The numbers of staff required for streaming services will be locally determined by health systems and based on the specific streaming model they employ, the staff mix local system leaders determine is required, and the demand profile in the local area.

Chronic Illnesses: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what products for rare and ultra-rare disease treatment have received European Medicines Agency marketing authorisation and orphan designation since 2013; and which of those products is routinely available to patients in England.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2016 to Question 56707, on diseases, how many of the 46 products that had received European Medicines Agency marketing authorisation and orphan designation since 2013 are undergoing assessment by NICE or NHS England; how many of those products are routinely commissioned in England; how many of those products received a positive evaluation through NICE's technology appraisal system; and how many of the six products selected for the highly specialised technologies programme received a positive evaluation.

Nicola Blackwood: Information on products that have received marketing authorisation and orphan designation since 2013 is contained in the attached table. Since April 2013 there have been 48 drugs designated as orphan against 62 indications. Of these indications, 28 are routinely commissioned, of which: - eight are recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance;- three are recommended in NICE Highly Specialised Technologies guidance;- 11 are commissioned under an NHS England Policy; and- six are available through the Cancer Drugs Fund. 26 indications are not currently routinely commissioned. Of these: - 15 are being assessed through NICE’s technology appraisal or highly specialised technologies work programmes;- four are on NHS England’s programme;- three are not launched in the United Kingdom; and- four are launched in the UK, but not currently being considered for routine funding. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for one of the remaining eight products and information is not held centrally on their availability. Information is not available on the remainder of products.



PQ67797 attached table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 5.07 MB)

Neuromuscular Disorders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to encourage clinical commissioning groups to increase access to cough-assist machines for people with muscle-wasting conditions, such as muscular dystrophy.

David Mowat: The provision of cough assist machines is a matter for local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs have the independence and autonomy to make commissioning decisions for local populations, taking into account the available evidence and individual circumstances as appropriate.Currently, the evidence base to support the routine use of cough assist machines in muscle-wasting conditions is not well established. NHS England worked with Muscular Dystrophy UK through its Bridging the Gap project to address areas of concern raised by patients and their representatives, one of which was the provision of cough assist machines. Through this work, a number of CGGs developed commissioning policies which set out the circumstances in which to consider these devices. In addition, in February 2016 the National institute for Health and Care Excellence published new guidance on the assessment and management of motor neurone disease, recommending that cough assist machines should be considered if assisted breath stacking is not effective, and/or during a respiratory tract infection.

Neuromuscular Disorders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of neuroscience centres in meeting NHS England service specifications of neurological care.

David Mowat: As part of NHS England’s Quality Assurance programme, an annual assessment is conducted for all specialised services. This commences with a provider self-declaration against a range of key requirements drawn from the service specification. The provider declaration is then considered alongside a range of other quality data such as information derived from the specialised services quality dashboards and from local commissioners who meet routinely with providers. This process, undertaken in full for the first time in 2016/17, has provided NHS England with a strengthened ability to assess provider compliance. Where non-compliance is identified, local commissioners have assessed what areas are affected, and whether the issue is amenable to a short term action plan which the provider develops and implements with oversight from local commissioners. Where the non-compliance is not considered to be amenable to a short term action plan, commissioner action is required to ensure availability of a compliant service for the future. The compliance level for the specialised neurology services specification is very high with only a small number of services requiring a provider action plan or commissioner action.

Mental Health Services: Ethnic Groups

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on recommendation 9 of the report Old Problems, New Solutions: Improving Acute Psychiatric Care for Adults in England, published by the Commission on Acute Psychiatric Care in February 2016, to pilot a new patients and carers race equality standard.

Nicola Blackwood: NHS England intends to publish a full response on behalf of all of the National Health Service arm’s length bodies to the report by the Commission on Acute Psychiatric Care shortly.

Suicide

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-fatal suicide attempts there were in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: The data is not collected centrally.

Suicide

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding his Department allocated to public information campaigns on suicide prevention in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department does not directly invest in public information campaigns on suicide prevention.Public Health England raises awareness of suicide prevention and provides guidance to local authorities and the National Health Service on various topics, for example mental health in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.Addressing the stigma that surrounds mental health, including suicide and self-harm is a priority. We provided additional investment of £12.5 million for the next phase of Time to Change up to 2020 to address mental health stigma. Time to Change recently launched the ‘In your corner’ social marketing campaign to encourage men to talk about mental health which we know can be a significant barrier in terms of preventing suicide in this group.

Prisons: Mental Health Services

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of prisons have a (a) psychiatrist, (b) psychotherapist and (c) qualified psychiatric nurse based on site.

Nicola Blackwood: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is expected that all prisons have access to a full range of mental health professionals as per services within the community.

NHS: Buildings

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2017 to Question 66957, on NHS: buildings, which of the buildings listed are in each county.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Property Services has provided information relating to the previous known usage of properties (by county) currently classified as vacant in the attached table.



PQ68208
(Excel SpreadSheet, 20.27 KB)

Dental Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 65127, on dental services, for what reason no date has been provided in that Answer for the years 2010-11 and 2011-12 for tooth extractions and removal for all patients.

David Mowat: Question 65127 requested data from 2012-13 onwards. The table below shows the estimated cost of tooth extractions for all patients in hospitals from 2010-11 to 2011-12. The data covers all tooth extractions/removals. Reference costs are the average unit costs to National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients. Reference costs for acute care are collected by healthcare resource group, which are standard groupings of clinically similar treatments which use common levels of healthcare resource. Reference Costs: Tooth extractions/removals 2010-11 to 2011-12 Estimated total cost £ million 2010-112011-12Extractions/Removal for all patients109.8114.4Source: Department of Health, Reference Costs

General Practitioners: Finance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 65202, on general practitioners: finance, what procedures NHS England followed to distribute those funds.

David Mowat: NHS England, following engagement with national key stakeholders, agreed on a fair shares distribution of funds to each NHS England local team footprint. Each fair share of the £16 million allocation was calculated using patient population registered for general practice services in that area, relative to the national registered patient population. This ensures the allocation of funds to support general practice reflects the needs for general practice services in each area.

General Practitioners: Closures

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2017 to Question 65408, on general practitioners: closures, for what reasons his Department does not collect centrally data on practice closures.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2017 to Question 65408, on general practitioners: closures, what assessment he has made of the effect that not collecting centrally data on practice closures has on his Department's fulfilment of its responsibilities and priorities to improve services through the use of digital technology, information and transparency.

David Mowat: Although data on general practitioner (GP) practices is collected by NHS Business Services Authority and published for use in the National Health Service by NHS Digital, data on practice closures cannot distinguish between practices which have closed and those which have merged or been taken over. In addition, changes to definitions of GP practices for data purposes mean that it is not possible to produce meaningful figures relating to closures over a period of years. The issues around this data collection do not affect NHS services in any way. NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and clinical commissioning groups to assess local primary care provision in an area and to ensure that appropriate services are available.

Health Visitors

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many health visitors were employed in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England in 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: NHS Digital publishes information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service in England each month. As at September 2010, there were 7,849 full-time equivalent health visitors working in the NHS Hospital and Community Health Service workforce.

Baby Care Units

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mother and baby beds were available in mental health units or hospitals in England in each of the last seven years.

Nicola Blackwood: The number of mother and baby beds is not collected routinely. NHS England is leading work to create four new 8-bedded mother and baby units in areas with particular access issues. The procurement process for these units is underway and will mean that by 2020, 30,000 more women will have access to care every year. A number of different reports provides the number of beds included in the following table. Mother and Baby beds in EnglandYearNumber of beds2010118201312320151152010 data from National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report, March 20112013 data from NHS England Service Specification 20132015 NHS England National Expert Reference Group Report 2015

Nurses: Schools

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered nurses were employed in school nursing teams in each of the last seven years.

Nicola Blackwood: The national statistics showing numbers of different registered nurses in school nursing teams for the last seven years are available under the Nurse-Community Health section of the NHS Workforce Statistics - November 2016, Provisional Statistics: Staff Group, Area and Level, which is available to view via the following link:http://content.digital.nhs.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=24360&returnid=1907

Eating Disorders: Children and Young People

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people under 18-years old have been admitted to hospital as a result of eating disorders in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: The information is not collected in the format requested.

Self-harm: Children and Young People

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people under 18-years old have been admitted to hospital as a result of self-harm in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: The information is not collected in the format requested.

Prostate Cancer

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of potential trends in the incidence of prostate cancer in men aged 50-years or more in the next 10 years.

David Mowat: The Department, Public Health England and the Office for National Statistics have made no such estimates.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Carbon Emissions

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will list the revisions he has made to the timetable for publication of the emissions reduction plan.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government’s intention is to publish the plan as early on in 2017 as possible in order to move on to the delivery stage.

Conditions of Employment: Pregnancy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will review and enhance statutory protections in the labour market for women who are pregnant or have recently given birth.

Margot James: On 26 January the Government responded to the Women and Equalities Select Committee report on pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace. A copy of that response can be found here.The Government response set out current and planned activity to protect pregnant women and new mothers from discrimination in the workplace and included a specific commitment to review existing redundancy protections, particularly for those who are pregnant or have recently returned from a period of leave following the birth of a child. We will consult on the options in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Migrant Workers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of people employed by his Department are from other EU countries.

Margot James: Like all Government Departments, BEIS is bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment as part of pre-employment checks but there is no requirement to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose. Holding this information then is not mandatory and as a result is not available for the whole BEIS workforce.

Local Growth Deals: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2017 to Question 66290, on employment: disadvantaged, what proportion of funding from the Government's £12 billion Local Growth Fund has been allocated to Easington constituency to date.

Margot James: The Local Growth Fund is awarded to Local Enterprise Partnerships, who prioritise projects for funding in accordance with their local assurance frameworks. Through its Growth Deal the North East Local Enterprise Partnership has prioritised two projects in Easington for support through the Local Growth Fund (LGF). The first is the Horden (Peterlee) Station project which will be supported by £3.44m of LGF for the construction of a new station on the Durham Coast line. The second is for improvements to be made to the A19/A189 Seaham/Murton interchange, and will be funded by £4.4m of LGF. Both projects will help the residents of Easington and the North East to access new and existing job opportunities.

Tickets: Sales

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Government's response to the Waterson review, published on 13 March 2017, how he plans to make funds available to National Trading Standards to enforce legislation relevant to secondary ticketing websites.

Margot James: In line with the Government’s response to the Waterson review, National Trading Standards and Trading Standards Scotland have been tasked with investigating potential enforcement cases against sellers and secondary ticketing websites that do not comply with legislation from within their forthcoming annual budgets.

Railways: Durham

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Transport on the potential merits of improving rail infrastructure on the Durham heritage coast in order to promote employment opportunities and inward investment in East Durham.

Margot James: Through its Growth Deal the North East Local Enterprise Partnership has prioritised £3.44m of funding through the Local Growth Fund (LGF) for the construction of a new station at Horden (Peterlee) on the Durham Coast line. The station will improve local travel links and improved access to more employment opportunities in the East Durham area and beyond.In November 2016 the Department for Transport received an application to the second round of the New Stations Fund from Durham County Council to support the construction of the station. The Department for Transport is currently evaluating all bids against the qualifying and assessment criteria.Also as part of the new Northern Franchise which operates on the Durham Coast line, Seaham will benefit from an additional early morning service to Middlesbrough and later evening service from Newcastle by May 2018. Also by 2020 the Pacer trains currently in operation will have been removed from the fleet.

Renewable Energy: Construction

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the completion dates for renewable energy projects across the UK for which (a) planning permission has been approved and (b) the installed capacity is to be equal to or above one gigawatt; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Productivity Leadership Group

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much Government funding the productivity leadership group has received.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Productivity Leadership Group (PLG) has not received any Government funding. The PLG did received limited ‘in-kind’ support from Government through a short-term staff secondment to help develop a free online productivity benchmarking tool for business.

Local Growth Deals: Newham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of the amount disbursed from the £12 billion Local Growth Fund has been allocated to the London Borough of Newham since that fund was opened.

Margot James: The Local Growth Fund is awarded to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), who prioritise projects for funding in accordance with their local assurance frameworks.The London LEP (London Economic Action Partnership) has prioritised the following projects in Newham for receipt of Local Growth Fund:The first is the renovation of the Carlsberg-Tetley building (£459,145). 50,000sqft of former brewery office space will be renovated to become a creative workspace. The space will be run by the Mill Co Project, a social enterprise which provide a range of affordable workspaces for creative practitioners in East London.The second is the renovation of the former North Woolwich Station Building (£647,000). This Grade II listed former station will be renovated to become an artists’ workspace. In addition, GLA money will restore almost 8000sqm of derelict track land to the rear of the station as a publically accessible green space. The space will include a substantial new community space, and additional artist studio cabins, with construction being undertaken via a readiness to work programme that will provide training for local young people.In addition, there is a pan-London Digital Talent Programme (£5m) with outcomes expected to be delivered in east London. Its main aim is to improve London’s advanced digital skills, support 15 -24 year olds and larger numbers of young women, BAME and disadvantaged young Londoners into digital/tech careers.

Renewable Energy

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the total proportion of UK energy supply which will come from renewable sources in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electricity: Exports

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average price of electricity exported from the UK through interconnectors was in the last 12 months.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electricity: Exports

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much electricity was exported from the UK through interconnectors in the last 12 months.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electricity: Imports

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average price of electricity imported into the UK through interconnectors was in the last 12 months.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electricity: Imports

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much electricity was imported into the UK through interconnectors in the last 12 months.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electricity: Prices

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average wholesale price of electricity was in 2016.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign Companies: Ownership

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he intends to publish a consultation or call for evidence on enhancing the transparency of beneficial ownership information of foreign companies that own properties in the UK.

Margot James: The Government remains committed introducing the register of beneficial ownership for foreign companies that own UK property, which was announced at the Anti-Corruption summit in 2016. This register is an important element of the forthcoming anti-corruption strategy. It will give assurance that the UK is a hostile environment for hiding the proceeds of corruption or laundering money.

EU Grants and Loans

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of the European Structural and Investment Funds available in the current funding period in each region have been allocated to date.

Margot James: The amounts of European Structural and Investment Funds committed to projects at present, and the locations of these projects, can be found on the following GOV.UK pages and the websites of the devolved administrations.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-structural-and-investment-funds-useful-resourceshttps://www.gov.uk/guidance/european-maritime-and-fisheries-fund-emff-successful-applicantshttp://cap-payments.defra.gov.uk/

EU Grants and Loans

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding from European Structural and Investment Funds has been made available in each region in the current funding period.

Margot James: A total of €16.2bn is available to the UK through the existing round of European Structural and Investment Funds programmes for 2014‑20. This includes funding across the UK of €5.2bn through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and €243m through the European Marine and Fisheries Fund. Information on the allocations from the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund to England, including allocations to Local Enterprise Partnership areas, and to the devolved administrations is provided on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/307492/bis-14-772-uk-allocations-eu-structural-funds-2014-2020-letter.pdf

EURATOM: Membership

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which nuclear energy stakeholders he consulted on whether the UK should seek to withdraw from the European Atomic Energy Community (a) before and (b) after the publication of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill 2016-17.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Migrant Workers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of people employed by his Department are from other EU countries.

Mark Lancaster: All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and to the Civil Service Nationality Rules.Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on Departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2017 to Question 66499, on Egypt: armed forces, how many of those service personnel are involved in operation in Yemen.

Mike Penning: None of the Service personnel stationed in Egypt are involved in operations in Yemen. Three are based in the Defence Section in the British Embassy in Cairo delivering UK Defence Engagement with Egypt, and two are deployed with the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping organisation in the Sinai, which exists to monitor the terms of the 1979 Treaty of the Peace between Egypt and Israel and continues to make an important contribution to peace and stability in the Sinai.

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of equipment procured by Defence Equipment and Support makes use of steel produced or processed in the UK.

Harriett Baldwin: Steel for our major programmes is mainly sourced by our prime contractors, taking into account cost, time and quality. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not, therefore, hold a complete central record of the origin of steel used in all past defence equipment projects.UK suppliers have, however, made a significant contribution to the supply of steel for some of our largest defence equipment projects, including 88% of the structural steel for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. The specialist nature of some of our steel requirements means that UK steel producers do not always have the capability to supply our programmes.More broadly, this Government is committed to creating the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry. In support of this, the Government has now published its future pipeline for steel requirements, indicating the quantities of steel expected to be required for major projects, including defence. This will enable UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for Government contracts. The pipeline is published on the gov.uk web site at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance.Updated policy guidance on Government steel procurement has also been published, which the MOD has adopted, and this encourages the public sector to take full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting procurement activities.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many contracts procured by his Department and its arms-length bodies require that the contractor pays those of its employees undertaking the work contracted for the real living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in each of the last three financial years.

Mark Lancaster: Employers, including those involved in contracts placed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and its arms-length bodies, are required to abide by applicable legislation including employment legislation such as the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. MOD policy is to include a contract condition in its contracts which reinforces this. There is no such policy on the payment of the real Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many contracts procured by his Department and its arms-length bodies are covered by TUPE regulations in each of the last three financial years.

Harriett Baldwin: Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations issues are considered on a case-by-case basis in relevant contracts placed by the Ministry of Defence and its arms-length bodies. The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Military Bases: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military personnel, (b) civilian personnel and (c) contracted workers are based at each of the military sites in the City of York Local Authority area to be disposed of by 2040.

Mark Lancaster: "A Better Defence Estate" is a military-led review.There are 728 military personnel, 365 civilian personnel and 82 contracted workers based at Imphal Barracks, York, which is due to de released in 2031.There are 138 military personnel, 52 civilian personnel and 53 contracted workers based at Queen Elizabeth Barracks, York, which is due to be released in 2021.There are 193 military personnel and less than 10 civilian personnel based at Towthorpe Lines, which is due to be released in 2021.

Afghanistan: Islamic State

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government is taking to assist the Afghan National Security Forces to combat Daesh in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Penning: The UK Government continues to make a key contribution to NATO's non-combat train, advise and assist mission which is helping the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces to build security and stability for the long term. Afghan security forces are now fully responsible for the security of the country, and have showed great professionalism and resilience in tackling security and countering terrorism, including from Daesh's affiliate in the region.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military personnel will be released for other duties having previously been involved with EU missions after the UK leaves the EU.

Mike Penning: The UK remains strongly committed to European security and will remain so after we leave the EU, but defining the specifics of the UK's future foreign, security, and defence policy relationship with the EU will be subject to negotiation.

Armed Forces: Labour Turnover

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military personnel have been (a) recruited and (b) resigned or retired from the armed forces in each of the last three years.

Mike Penning: The requested information is provided below:  UK Regular Forces Recruitment, Resignations and Retirements During Calendar Years 2014-16  201420152016Recruitment12,33913,88613,444Resignations7,4507,9177,352Retirements3,3332,7401,664 Notes: All figures have been sourced from Tables 4 and 5d of the 1 February 2017 edition of the Monthly Service Personnel Statistics publication, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/597081/Monthly_Service_Personnel_Statistics_1February17__2_.xlsx"Recruitment" is defined as the total intake of personnel to the Regular Forces."Resignations" are defined as any personnel leaving the UK Regular Forces on Voluntary Outflow. Voluntary Outflow relates to any personnel who voluntarily leave before the end of their agreed engagement or commission period."Retirements" are defined as any personnel leaving the UK Regular Forces on Time Expiry. Time Expiry relates to any personnel who reach the end of their engagement or commission period and then leave.UK Regular Forces comprises Full-time personnel but does not include Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service personnel and Reservists.

Armed Forces: Personation

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what regulations and sanctions there are related to the false written use of military rank and postnominals by non armed forces personnel.

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what regulations and sanctions there are related to the impersonation of armed forces personnel (a) for financial gain, (b) to compromise security or gain access to his Department's property, (c) for other material gain and (d) for enhanced social standing.

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what regulations and sanctions there are related to the false wearing of (a) uniform, (b) rank and (c) tactical recognition flashes or insignia by non armed forces personnel.

Mark Lancaster: There is no sanction regarding anyone claiming to have a particular military rank or post-nominals, unless in the commission of fraud. The wearing of uniforms by persons not entitled is an offence under the Uniforms Act of 1894. The wearing of any rank badge or unit insignia/tactical recognition flash by anyone not in uniform would be meaningless. Any act of impersonating military personnel in pursuit of financial or other material gain would fall under the provisions of the Fraud Act. Falsely obtaining access to Departmental property, by no matter what means, might be prosecutable under the Official Secrets Act 1911; Bylaws passed under the Military Lands Acts 1892; or Section 128 or 129 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.There is at present no sanction for anyone pretending to military rank in order to enhance their social standing.

Hyde Park Barracks

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans the Government has for the future of Hyde Park Barracks.

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any property developers have expressed an interest to his Department in purchasing all or part of Hyde Park Barracks in the last 12 months.

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government plans to sell all or part of the Hyde Park Barracks.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence is reviewing the most efficient way to meet the requirement for state ceremonial and public duties in London. As part of those investigations some property developers have expressed an interest in buying all or part of Hyde Park Barracks in the past 12 months. No decisions have been taken on the future of Hyde Park Barracks.

Household Cavalry

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his plans are for the relocation of the Household Cavalry in the event that all or part of Hyde Park Barracks is sold.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence is reviewing how it provides state ceremonial and public duties within London. So far no decisions have been made on the future of Hyde Park Barracks and therefore, no decisions have been taken about future re-provision arrangements.

Warships: Decommissioning

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Navy vessels have been scrapped in each of the last five years; and what the locations were of each scrap yard where those vessels were scrapped.

Mark Lancaster: Information about the recycling of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels in each of the last five years is contained in the following table:  YearNumber of vesselsLocation of Recycling Facility20121Turkey20136Five in Turkey and one in UK20142Turkey20153Turkey20163Turkey   Following a series of open competitions, a number of former Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have been recycled by a Turkish company, LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd, over the last five years. These contracts were awarded because the company’s bid provided the best combination of technical capability and financial return to the Ministry of Defence.

Aircraft Carriers

Mr Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when carrier strike capability will be operational.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department remains on track to deliver the planned initial operating capability for Carrier Strike in December 2020.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the additional vehicle options are for the AJAX armoured vehicle programme.

Harriett Baldwin: The AJAX family of vehicles has a common base platform with six variants performing different roles and providing a number of options for the Army:AJAX - reconnaissance and strikeARES - armoured personnel carrierAPOLLO - repairATLAS - recoveryARGUS - engineering reconnaissanceATHENA - command and control

Ministry of Defence: Land

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Department receives the revenue for the sale of land that is (a) owned by his Department and (b) used by his Department but owned by the Crown.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence receives the revenue for the sale of any land it owns. Where land was used by the Department but owned by the Crown, any revenue received would be shared subject to an agreement between both parties. All revenues from land sales are reinvested in Defence.

Veterans: Females

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many female military veterans there are by (a) county, (b) region, (c) service and (d) age range.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence estimates that in 2015 there were 2.56 million UK Armed Forces veterans residing in households across Great Britain (GB), of which 270,000 were female veterans. Of those, we estimate that 127,000 female veterans were under 65 years old, and 143,000 were older.The numbers of female veterans living in GB by region (for England only) and in Scotland and Wales is provided below, estimated to the nearest thousand.Number of Female Veterans North East - 11,000North West - 28,000Yorkshire and the Humber - 29,000East Midlands - 16,000West Midlands - 22,000East of England - 19,000London - 11,000South East - 50,000South West - 43,000Scotland - 24,000Wales - 18,000Total - 270,000Source: Office of National Statistics 2015 Annual Population SurveyThe sum of the parts does not equal the total due to rounding.Information on the numbers of female veterans by county and by Service is not currently available.

Type 26 Frigates

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when steel will be cut for the first Type 26 Frigate.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2017 to Question 59239 to the right hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Sir Nicholas Soames).



59239 - WQnA extract on Type 26 Frigates
(Word Document, 14.5 KB)

Warships: Decommissioning

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Navy vessels have been decommissioned in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: I have interpreted “decommissioned” to mean withdrawn from service, in which case the following Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have been decommissioned in the last five years: 2012HMS TURBULENTHMS YORKHMS LIVERPOOL 2013HMS EDINBURGH 2014HMS TIRELESSHMS ILLUSTRIOUS 2015RFA ORANGELEAF 2016RFA BLACK ROVERRFA DILIGENCE

Department for Communities and Local Government

Planning Permission: Birmingham

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether, when making the decision to withdraw the direction for Birmingham City Council not to take any step in connection with the adoption of the Birmingham Development Plan 2031, his Department (a) received any submissions, whether oral or in writing, from third parties, (b) received any submissions from parties interested in or connected to the Peddimore Employment Site and Langley Sustainable Urban Extension and (c) held any meetings with third parties in relation to the decision to withdraw the Holding Direction.

Gavin Barwell: Holding answer received on 13 December 2016



In relation to your request at (a) and (b) the information requested is held by the Department and I will place a copy of these documents in the Library of the House. No oral submissions were made to the Department.In relation to your request at (c), officials from the Department met with Birmingham City Council on 23 June 2016 at which the Council delivered a presentation and I will also place a copy of this document in the Library of the House.Some information has been redacted. The information is the personal data, as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), of another individual.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Government Contracts

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the total (a) number and (b) value of Government contracts that have been contracted out by his Department was in each year since 2010; what the value of pro bono costs was in each such year; and what estimate he has made of the number of work days contracted out in each such year.

Mr Marcus Jones: We are unable to provide details of contracts that may have been awarded with a value of less than £10,000 as locating, retrieving and extracting this expenditure would have been at a disproportionate cost.The table below sets out the answer to (a) and (b): the number of contracts and their total values that had been let by my Department since 2010-11.Financial YearNo of contractsTotal Value of contracts2010 - 1170£20 million2011 - 12121£50 million2012 - 1384£89 million2013 - 14109£39 million2014 - 15148£41 million2015 - 1691£40 millionMy Department does not hold information on the value of pro bono costs and the number of work days contracted out.

Private Rented Housing

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to monitor (a) letting agent fees, (b) lease terms and (c) safety standards in rented properties.

Gavin Barwell: The Government is committed to building a strong and safe private rented sector, which provides security and stability for both tenants and landlords. We announced at the 2016 Autumn Statement a ban on letting agent fees paid by tenants, to improve competition in the private rental market and give renters greater clarity and control over what they will pay. The Government will consult in the Spring on the detail of implementation.The Housing White Paper outlines the Government’s intention to promote fairness and transparency for the growing number of leaseholders. We will consult on a range of measures to tackle all unfair and unreasonable abuses of leasehold and consider further reforms through the consultation to improve consumer choice and fairness for leaseholders.An increasing number of private tenants are happy with their tenure and standards are improving. We are determined to ensure all sectors of the housing market provide decent homes.

First Time Buyers

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to support home-buyers with small deposits.

Gavin Barwell: The Government is supporting home buyers with small deposits to achieve their home ownership aspirations through a number of measures:Operating the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, which offers a government equity loan of up to 20 per cent (up to 40 per cent in London) of the price of a new build home up to the value of £600,000;The Government’s Help to Buy ISA helps to boost the savings of prospective first-time buyers. It offers a 25 per cent savings bonus, up to a maximum of £3,000, towards the purchase of a first home;In April 2017, the Government will also introduce the Lifetime ISA. This will support younger adults to save flexibly for the long term, giving them a 25 per cent bonus on up to £4,000 of savings a year. Savings and the bonus can be put towards the purchase of a first home, or withdrawn once they reach the age of 60.Shared Ownership enables people to buy a share of a new home built with a public grant provided for developing that home. Purchasers are able to buy a share of between 25 per cent and 75 per cent (depending on what they can afford and what is available) and pay a subsidised rent on the remainder. Purchasers are able to buy further shares in their homes in minimum 10 per cent instalments.More details on support from the Government towards home –buyers with small deposits can be found between pages 58-61 of the recently published Housing White Paper (February 2017):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590464/Fixing_our_broken_housing_market_-_print_ready_version.pdf

Non-domestic Rates: Public Houses

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 3.17 of Budget 2017, what estimate the Government has made of the number of public houses which will be eligible for the £1,000 business rate discount in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government will shortly be consulting on the eligibility criteria for the pubs discount. All eligible pubs with a rateable value less than £100,000 will receive up to a £1000 discount.

Non-domestic Rates: Public Houses

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding announced in Budget 2017 the Government plans to provide to help pubs with the effect on the business rate review; and on what basis that funding will be distributed among those pubs.

Mr Marcus Jones: At the Budget on 8 March the Chancellor announced a new relief scheme for pubs with a rateable value below £100,000. Under the scheme, eligible pubs will receive a £1000 discount on rate bills. My Department will shortly consult on guidance which will include proposals on the eligibility criteria and other aspects of the scheme.Additionally, £110 million will be available to assist those ratepayers losing small business rates relief or rural rate relief as a result of revaluation. The Government is also making available a £300 million discretionary relief fund over the next four years to enable local authorities to help individual businesses that are facing increased rates bills.These schemes may also be available to pubs.

Private Rented Housing

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent representations he has received on the effect of Section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 on private renters.

Gavin Barwell: Holding answer received on 16 March 2017



The Government recognises the important role that buy-to-let landlords play in the UK housing market and economy. At Summer Budget 2015, the Government set out a package of measures to reduce the budget deficit, rebalance the economy and make the tax system fairer. The measures included restricting the amount of tax relief landlords can claim on property finance costs to the basic rate of tax.This is an issue raised in correspondence and through meetings with representative organisations including the Residential Landlords Association and the National Landlords Association.The Government does not expect the changes to have a large impact on either house prices or rent levels due to the small overall proportion of the housing market affected. Furthermore, this change is being introduced gradually from April 2017 over 4 years, ensuring landlords will have time to plan for this change and adjust.

Private Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Help to Rent schemes piloted by his Department in 2010 to 2014.

Gavin Barwell: Holding answer received on 16 March 2017



Access to the private rented sector plays an important part in both preventing and supporting the recovery from homelessness, helping people to rebuild their lives.The Government made a significant investment of nearly £12 million from 2010 to 2014 for Crisis to develop their Access to Private Rented Sector scheme to help people in need to access accommodation.This supported 153 projects in 144 council areas. The projects created 8,128 tenancies and achieved a 90 per cent tenancy sustainment rate.In 2014, the Government provided a further £2 million funding to keep the scheme running for another two years, supporting an additional 42 projects. This led to 2,454 tenancies with a 92 per cent tenancy sustainment rate.The Government is now taking forward a £50 million Homelessness Prevention Programme and Bob Blackman MP's Homelessness Reduction Bill which will provide earlier support for more people to prevent and tackle homelessness across the country.

Non-domestic Rates: Hendon

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of businesses that will pay increased business rates in Hendon constituency after the business rate re-evaluation exercise.

Mr Marcus Jones: The effect of the revaluation of business rates on businesses in Hendon will depend on the specific circumstances and location of the relevant property. A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support to properties which face an increase in rates. Additionally, at Budget 2017 the Chancellor announced a £435 million package to support businesses in England facing the steepest increases in business rates following the revaluation.

Leasehold: Right to Manage Companies

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether safeguards are in place in blocks of flats containing between three and six properties to ensure that one leaseholder does not coerce others into a Right to Manage scheme at the expense of the freeholder and the upkeep of that building.

Gavin Barwell: There are statutory protections in place for this matter.A majority of leaseholders is required to set up a Right to Manage Company, which is then governed subject to company law decision making procedures. The freeholder is entitled to apply to be a member after the acquisition date.A Right to Manage Company is subject to two codes of management practice setting out the law and best practice. These were updated in June 2016, and approved by the Secretary of State, and must be taken into account at court or tribunal proceedings where relevant.Any leaseholder can apply to the First-tier Tribunal to appoint a new manager (s.24 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987) due to poor management, unreasonable fees or not complying with Managing Agents’ Codes of Practice.

Social Services: Wolverhampton

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the level of future demand for social care in Wolverhampton; and what estimate his Department has made of the financial cost of that care.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 16 March 2017



This Government recognises that adult social care is a key priority which provides vital services to millions of people across the country.It is for local authorities to allocate spending for services, including adult social care, according to local demand.However, we recognise the importance of supporting these services and have listened to representations from local authorities and care providers. In addition to the package announced at the 2015 Spending Review and the 2017-18 Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government has now provided a further £2 billion to local authorities for adult social care over the next three years, of which Wolverhampton will receive over £12 million.

Non-domestic Rates: Bermondsey and Old Southwark

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what share of the £300 million in discretionary relief for business rate hard cases will be provided to businesses in Bermondsey and Old Southwark constituency.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department is currently consulting on the £300 million discretionary relief scheme. As part of the consultation the Government published details of the provisional allocations by local authority. Details of the consultation and allocations are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/discretionary-business-rates-relief-scheme

Non-domestic Rates:Schools

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the effect of the business rates revaluation on state schools in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Middlesbrough and (d) Redcar and Cleveland.

Mr Marcus Jones: The effect of the revaluation of business rates on schools in England, the North East, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland will depend on the specific circumstances and location of the relevant property. A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support for the minority of properties which face an increase in rates as a result of the 2017 revaluation, and applies equally to schools.

Landlord and Tenant: Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his most recent assessment is of the extent to which private landlords are unwilling to let to tenants on housing benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Barwell: The English Housing Survey Headline Report 2015-16 (published March 2017) shows that 24 per cent of households privately renting are in receipt of housing benefit. This suggests that recipients of housing benefit are able to access the sector.

Non-domestic Rates: Schools

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the total amount of non-domestic rates paid was by state schools in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Middlesbrough and (d) Redcar and Cleveland in each of the last five years.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department does not hold this information.

Non-domestic Rates: Private Education

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the costs to the Exchequer of the discount on non-domestic rates given to independent schools in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) the South East, (d) Middlesbrough and (e) Redcar and Cleveland in each of the last five years.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department does not hold information on the cost of relief given to independent schools.

Housing: Floods

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to increase penalties for building houses on flood-plains.

Gavin Barwell: The Government has been clear that all local planning authorities are expected to follow the strict tests set out in the National Planning Policy Framework to protect people and property from flooding. The Framework is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk. Where development is necessary in a flood risk area, it must be demonstrated that it will be safe, without increasing flood risk elsewhere, and be appropriately flood resilient and resistant. We are clear in our planning guidance supporting the Framework that where these tests are not met, new development should not be allowed.Local planning authorities have a wide range of powers to tackle breaches of planning control. Failure to comply with a planning condition would normally be dealt with by serving a breach of condition notice, or an enforcement notice requiring the recipient to remedy the breach. The penalty for failing to comply with a breach of condition notice is a fine of up to £2,500 on summary conviction. For failure to comply with an enforcement notice, it is an unlimited fine. Full details of local authority’s enforcement powers can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ensuring-effective-enforcement

Private Rented Housing

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average (a) annual and (b) monthly cost of private renting in (i) St Helens North constituency, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the UK was in each year since 2010.

Gavin Barwell: Statistics on the private rental market in England, Merseyside (Metropolitan County) and in each local authority district including St. Helens, are published by the Valuation Office Agency and are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/private-rental-market-summary-statistics-october-2015-to-september-2016The Valuation Office Agency advises that because the composition of this sample changes over time, it is not possible to compare median rents provided in this publication with statistics in previous publications to infer trends in the rental market over time. The statistics therefore provide a snapshot that shows the range of rents across England.The official source on change over time in cost of renting in Great Britain is the Office for National Statistics Index of Private Housing Rental Prices available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/indexofprivatehousingrentalprices/jan2017Statistics are not available at the level of parliamentary constituency or the United Kingdom.

Non-domestic Rates: Telecommunications

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of making dark fibre lit for telecommunications purposes liable for business rate payments.

Mr Marcus Jones: Rateable values are set independently of Ministers and the Department by the Valuation Office Agency. Telecom networks are subject to business rates in the normal way and it is for the Valuation Office Agency to decide whether dark fibre which has been lit should be included in rating assessments. We have introduced a £3.6 billion package of transitional relief introduced to help slow the rate of change in bills over the next five years.

Dental Health

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 65415, who is responsible for monitoring whether local authorities meet their statutory requirements on oral health.

Mr Marcus Jones: The duties on local authorities in relation to oral health, including oral health promotion are set out in the NHS Bodies and Local Authorities (Partnership Arrangements, Care Trusts, Public Health and Local Healthwatch) Regulations 2012 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3094/pdfs/uksi_20123094_en.pdf). The Regulations make specific provision for authorities to operate a complaints system in relation to their public health functions. This includes a requirement to compile an annual report of complaints about public health functions, which must be publicly available.This statutory framework therefore establishes at the local level, provision for the public to complain about local authority public health matters, and require local authorities to produce an annual report of complaints which must be available to the public. This is consistent with Government policy that local government is held to account at the local level by its electorate.Should a local authority fail to comply with its statutory duties, it is for the electorate to hold their local authority to account, either through the ballot box or through judicial review. The Local Government Ombudsman can investigate complaints of maladministration in local authorities, and recommend redress for individuals.

Social Services: Leeds City Council

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 5.5 of the Spring Budget 2017, what estimate he has made of how much of the additional £2 billion funding for adult social care will be allocated to Leeds City Council.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department published the allocations for the additional funding for adult social care announced at the Spring Budget 2017 online on 9 March, together with an Explanatory Note.This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-allocations-of-the-additional-funding-for-adult-social-care.

Communities and Local Government: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2017 to Question 64994, at what pay grades the 110 civil servants with contract management responsibility are employed.

Mr Marcus Jones: The average pay grade at which the 110 civil servants with contract management responsibility are employed is PB5.8. (Senior Executive Officer).

Local Government: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the application by some Dorset councils for local government reorganisation submitted on 9 February 2017 has been referred to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Mr Marcus Jones: The application has not been referred to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Local Government: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on what date the Government invited councils in Dorset to submit a proposal for (a) a combined authority and (b) local government reorganisation.

Mr Marcus Jones: No invitations to submit proposals for combined authorities or local government have been issued to councils, who are free, as the Government has consistently made clear, to put forward such proposals whenever they wish.

Housing: Floods

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the development of can-float homes in areas of flood risk; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Barwell: The National Planning Policy Framework seeks to protect people and property from flooding, steering inappropriate development away from areas at risk of flooding. Where development is necessary in a flood risk area, and where there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower probability of flooding, it should be made safe, without increasing flood risk elsewhere.The Framework does not specify the form and design of development. More innovative approaches, such as floating buildings, would need to be considered individually in the light of the particular circumstances of the site in question, including the local hydrology. The rate and depth of flow in times of flood and the risk of debris in fast-flowing floodwater striking a building, would be among the important considerations.As with any proposal for new homes in a flood risk area, the developer would need to demonstrate to the local planning authority, having regard to advice from the Environment Agency, that the development would be safe and resilient for its lifetime, and not increase flood risk elsewhere. Where appropriate, this may also require safe access and escape routes and provision for emergency evacuation in times of flood.

Non-domestic Rates: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the £300 million in discretionary rate relief for businesses which will be allocated to Warrington.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department is currently consulting on the £300 million discretionary relief scheme. As part of the consultation the Government published details of the provisional allocations by local authority.Details of the consultation and allocations are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/discretionary-business-rates-relief-scheme

Non-domestic Rates: Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by what date he plans for public health to be fully funded from local authority business rate retention.

Mr Marcus Jones: On 15 February 2017, the Government announced that the delivery of public health services will be funded through retained business rates; replacing the Public Health Grant. The Government’s intention is to implement the 100 per cent business rates retention system from 1 April 2019.

Social Services: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 3 of the Spring Budget 2017, how much of the additional £2 billion of additional social care funding he plans to allocate to Warrington.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department published the allocations for the additional funding for adult social care announced at the Spring Budget 2017 online on 9 March, together with an Explanatory Note.This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-allocations-of-the-additional-funding-for-adult-social-care.

Local Council Tax Support Schemes Independent Review

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish its response to the Ollerenshaw Review of Local Council Tax Support Schemes, published on 31 March 2016.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department is carefully considering the recommendations made by Mr Ollerenshaw. The Government’s response to the review’s findings will be published in due course.

Local Government: Redundancy Pay

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on whether the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc.) (Modification) Order 1999 requires to be updated.

Mr Marcus Jones: There have been no recent discussions with the devolved administrations on whether the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government etc.) (Modification) Order 1999 requires to be updated.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that private parking ticket costs are not excessive.

Mr Marcus Jones: We have set out a clear manifesto commitment to tackle aggressive parking enforcement and excessive private parking charges. This Government is taking steps to tackle rogue and unfair practices by private parking operators. We have put in place a range of measures to reform the behaviour of private parking companies, including the banning of wheel clamping and towing.The discussion paper entitled ‘Parking reform: tackling unfair practices’, sought thoughts and comments on the private parking sector. My Department published a summary of the responses on 11 May 2016. I am actively considering responses to the discussion paper, and options for reform.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Migrant Workers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of people employed by his Department are from other EU countries.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. The nationality of staff would be a matter for parent employers.

Department for International Trade

Energy: Exports

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the (a) value and (b) proportion of exports of goods and services in the clean energy and renewable sector for (i) solar, (ii) wind, (iii) tidal, (iv) hydroelectric and (v) nuclear energy in each quarter of financial years (A) 2015-16 and (B) 2016-17.

Mark Garnier: Preliminary estimates of exports in the UK Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show that the value of total sector exports was £3,840 million in 2015. The value of exports from the low carbon electricity subsector in 2015 was £330 million, which is equivalent to 8.6% of the total sector exports.(Source: ONS UK Environmental Accounts: Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy Survey, first estimates of direct activity: 2015, https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/bulletins/finalestimates/2015 )Estimates on a quarterly basis are not available.

Department for International Trade: Staff

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff in his Department's Trade Policy Group have experience of working in the agricultural industry.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade has a strong core of trade policy officials working on various aspects of trade policy, including agricultural policy. We are working closely with other Government Departments with relevant expertise, in particular the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs who have overall responsibility for the agriculture sector.

Manufacturing Industries: Exports

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the (a) value and (b) proportion of exports in the manufacturing sector for (i) automotive, (ii) aerospace and (iii) defence products in each quarter of financial years (A) 2015-16 and (B) 2016-17.

Mark Garnier: The value and proportion of exports in the manufacturing sector for automotive and aerospace products in each quarter since the second quarter of 2015 is given in the table below. Value (£million) of Manufacturing, Aerospace and Automotive Exports 2015Q22015Q32015Q42016Q12016Q22016Q3Manufacturing65,77663,45063,67763,52667,48166,612Automotive8,5878,3918,5779,12710,16310,103Aerospace6,4726,0126,2916,7227,5577,224  As % of total Manufacturing Exports  2015Q22015Q32015Q42016Q12016Q22016Q3Manufacturing100%100%100%100%100%100%Automotive13%13%13%14%15%15%Aerospace10%9%10%11%11%11% Source: Office for National Statistics, UK Trade in Goods by Classification of Product by Activity (CPA 2008)  Quarterly figures are not available for defence & security goods and services. 2016 figures will be published in due course as Official Statistics.

Department for International Trade: Staff

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff in his Department's Trade Policy Group have experience of working in the environmental goods and services sector.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade has a strong core of trade policy officials working on various aspects of trade policy, including the environmental goods and services sector. We are working closely with other Government Departments with relevant expertise, in particular the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Department for International Trade: Staff

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff in his Department's Trade Policy Group have experience of working on fisheries policy.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade has a strong core of trade policy officials working on various aspects of trade policy, including fisheries. We are working closely with other Government Departments with relevant expertise, in particular the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs who have overall responsibility for fisheries policy.

Overseas Trade

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of current trends in (a) exports and (b) imports.

Mark Garnier: UK exports increased (in real terms) by 1.4% and imports by 2.5% between 2015 and 2016.In its latest forecasts (March 2017), the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects UK exports to increase faster than imports in 2017 and 2018.OBR forecasts - UK exports and imports (chained-linked volumes, seasonally adjusted) OutturnForecast 2015201620172018201920202021Exports (annual % change)6.11.43.43.01.60.70.5Imports (annual % change)5.52.52.11.91.40.80.6 Source: Office for Budget Responsibility, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, March 2017

Trade Agreements

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how his Department assessed the levels of commitment to the best possible outcome for the UK following its departure from the EU displayed by teams bidding to deliver Market Access Discovery and Trade Remedies Discovery services.

Mark Garnier: All bids were assessed equally and fairly in compliance with procurement law. This included a final interview stage by a panel, in which applicants were assessed against all criteria.

Small Businesses: Trade Promotion

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the level of business interest in the great.gov.uk digital platform.

Mark Garnier: The great.gov.uk digital platform has received over 2,400,000 page views and 780,000 unique visitors since its launch on 14 November 2016.Since the launch, over 10,000 user accounts have been created on great.gov.uk services and nearly 25,000 enquiries about export opportunities have been submitted.The Department for International Trade is continually evaluating and iterating its services to ensure that it provides the best possible support to businesses.

Department for International Trade: Migrant Workers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many and what proportion of people employed by his Department are from other EU countries.

Mark Garnier: All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what basis European Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP has in UK law.

Mark Garnier: The UK acts in accordance with Common Position 2008/944/CFSP in its application of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. These Criteria were set out in a written ministerial statement by the former Business Secretary on 25 March 2014 as guidance given under section 9 of the Export Control Act 2002.

Women and Equalities

Equal Pay

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department will have access to HM Revenue and Customs data in order to help identify non-compliant businesses once gender pay gap reporting  requirements are in place in April 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government Equalities Office does not currently intend to use HMRC data to help identify non-compliant employers. The regulations introducing mandatory gender pay gap reporting will require employers to publish the information on their own website and a Government website. This will allow us to monitor closely the levels of compliance, and we will keep our approach under review during the early years of implementation.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2017 to Question 64967, on gender recognition: health services, which single-sex services will be considered as part of the Government's review of the Gender Recognition Act 2004; and when the Government plans that review to commence.

Caroline Dinenage: In the Government’s response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee inquiry into transgender equality, we committed to reviewing the Gender Recognition Act to determine whether changes can be made to improve it in order to streamline and de-medicalise the gender recognition process. The internal review is already underway. As part of this work, we are monitoring the implementation of alternative gender recognition processes in other jurisdictions and analysing the evidence placed before the Committee; this will inform our consideration of single-sex services as part of the review.

Department for Transport

Level Crossings: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of level crossing safety in Bassetlaw constituency.

Paul Maynard: Level Crossing safety is a matter for Network Rail as the primary duty holder. Network Rail has assessed Worksop Station Level Crossing on Carlton Road, risk ranked 84 out of 1,968 crossings on the London North Eastern and East Midlands Route, as the highest risk level crossing in the Bassetlaw constituency.

Cycling: Safety

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the Dutch Reach method of opening car doors on the safety of cyclists.

Andrew Jones: The Department is aware of the Dutch Reach method of opening car doors. Leaving a vehicle and checking for oncoming cyclists, pedestrians and other traffic before opening the door is however already part of the DVSA's National Standards for driving. We therefore have no plans to mandate which arm a driver uses to open the door.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Chilterns

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when HS2 Ltd plans to provide the detailed programme of works for the Chilterns.

Andrew Jones: Following contract award, the Main Works contractors will be in place later this year. As designs mature, the programme of works will be developed, culminating in a detailed programme being available by the end of 2018. Programmes are currently being developed for individual localised Enabling Works packages such as habitat creations, site clearance and highway improvements in preparation for the Main Works. HS2 Ltd will be meeting my Right Hon. Friend on 27 March to provide an update on the works within the Chiltern area and the process for developing the programme.

Railway Stations: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the capacity of Swindon station.

Paul Maynard: The Secretary of State has made no recent assessment of the capacity of Swindon station.

Railway Stations: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people used Swindon station in each year since 2000.

Paul Maynard: Station usage statistics are collected and published by the Office of Rail and Road. The usage of Swindon station shown in those statistics is: 2000-01: 2,064,6692001-02: 2,011,1592002-03: 2,117,0842003-04: -*2004-05: 2,257,7192005-06: 2,340,9522006-07: 2,515,4922007-08: 2,758,8912008-09: 2,905,2662009-10: 2,835,3642010-11: 3,039,2282011-12: 3,232,5782012-13: 3,220,1802013-14: 3,350,4442014-15: 3,503,9822015-16: 3,580,540 * The statistics consistently omit the 2003-04 year due to a change in the statistical series.

Buses: Accidents

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents have taken place involving public service vehicles manufactured before 2011 in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have been killed or seriously injured in accidents involving public service vehicles manufactured before 2011 in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: The following table shows a) the number of accidents and b) the number of killed or seriously injured casualties resulting from reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one bus or coach manufactured before 2011.  a) Accidents involving at least one bus/coach manufactured before 2011b) Killed or seriously injured casualties involving at least one bus/coach manufactured before 201120115,59474520124,45764620133,73356820143,44249220152,702427 These statistics only include vehicles for which the police provided a registration mark and which matched the DVLA database to enable the age of the bus/coach to be ascertained. Around 19% of the buses and coaches reported personal-injury road traffic accidents did not have a valid registration mark recorded on the form for various reasons, such as it simply not being noted down or figures being transposed, and so are excluded from this analysis. The police records cannot distinguish public service vehicles from other buses and coaches, so the figures provided are for all buses and coaches irrespective of the ownership or use of the vehicle.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

South Sudan: Work Permits

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has raised the increase in the cost of work permits for foreign workers in South Sudan with the South Sudanese Government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are concerned by the increasingly challenging environment for foreign workers in South Sudan, especially those working for humanitarian organisations and aid agencies. The continued obstruction of their work by the Government of South Sudan is particularly troubling following the declaration of famine in parts of Greater Unity State. The proposal to increase the cost of work permits will hinder their response. In light of the desperate situation, we are planning together with our international partners urgently to raise these issues with the Government of South Sudan.

Iraq: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2017 to Question 60259, how much his Department spent on Iraq through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government's Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) was first established for the 2015/2016 Financial Year. In 2015/16 the UK spent £13,832,069 in Iraq through the CSSF. In the Financial Year 2016/17 we have, to date, spent £14,841,495 in Iraq through the CSSF.

Israel and Occupied Territories: British Nationals Abroad

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of how the recently amended Entry to Israel Law will affect UK citizens travelling to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 13 March (PQ 67071).

USA: Intelligence Services

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to review intelligence sharing and joint working with the US.

Sir Alan Duncan: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters. The UK-US relationship is grounded in our history and shared traditions. In both countries, intelligence work takes place within a strong legal framework.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 64998, at what pay grades the 50 civil servants who oversee major departmental contracts are employed.

Sir Alan Duncan: Of the approximately 50 staff overseeing major departmental contracts that are delivered in or from the UK for the FCO worldwide, there are currently three Senior Civil Servants.

Afghanistan: Diplomatic Service

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK diplomats and members of staff at the UK embassy in Kabul are fluent in (a) Dari and (b) Pashto; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials in his Department are fluent in (a) Dari and (b) Pashto; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: The British Embassy in Kabul has approximately 160 local staff, many of whom speak Dari or Pashto as their native language. We also have a small number of UK-based roles in Kabul where we train incumbents to speak Dari or Pashto.

Balkans: EU Enlargement

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what consideration has been given to the geographical location of the Western Balkans summit in 2018.

Sir Alan Duncan: We are delighted to be hosting the 2018 Western Balkans Summit, as part of our strong and enduring commitment to the Western Balkans. No decision has yet been taken on where in the UK the Summit will be held.

British Overseas Territories: Companies

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the Overseas Territories to introduce public registers of beneficial ownership.

Sir Alan Duncan: I refer the Hon. Member to my response of 17 March to written question 67174.

British Virgin Islands: Tax Havens

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Premier of the British Virgin Islands on the Panama Papers.

Sir Alan Duncan: None. Financial regulation is a matter for the BVI Government, which has made clear its commitment to addressing the concerns raised. In November 2016, the BVI Financial Services Commission imposed a record administrative penalty against Mossack Fonseca's BVI operation, citing breaches of BVI's Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Code and its Regulatory Code.

Israel

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2017 to Question 66575, what evidence he has of officially sanctioned incitement or incitement to violence by the Israeli Government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have no evidence of any officially sanctioned incitement, or incitement to violence, by the Israeli government. We deplore all incitement to violence and raise cases of concern with both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities as required. We have urged the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, the type of action and language which will make it more difficult to achieve a peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict. We continue to support Palestinian calls to reinstate the Tripartite Committee as the appropriate channel to deal with any such allegations.

Bangladesh: Human Rights

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Government of Bangladesh on human rights and political violence in that country.

Alok Sharma: I raised concerns about human rights and political violence with the Government of Bangladesh during my visit to Dhaka from 2 to 4 March. In my meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leaders Begum Khaleda Zia and Raushan Ershad MP, I called on all parties to participate in future elections and to ensure that they were free, fair and credible.In my meeting with Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali on 3 March I emphasised that Bangladesh's "zero-tolerance" approach towards terrorism and extremism must respect the rule of law and international human rights standards.

Department for International Development

Dalal Mughrabi

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Partnership Principles, what discussions her Department has had with the Palestinian Authority on the endorsement by the District Governor of Ramallah, Laila Ghannam, of the decision of the Palestinian Liberation Organization Supreme Council for Youth and Sports to name a youth camp after Dalal Mughrabi.

Rory Stewart: Holding answer received on 15 March 2017



The UK deplores incitement on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The UK considers the evidence carefully when deciding whether to raise an instance of incitement with the PA. The UK regularly presses the Palestinian Authority to tackle incitement.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has made an estimate of the value of UK humanitarian aid to Yemen that has been prevented from entering Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition in the last 12 months.

Rory Stewart: We have not made an estimate of the value of UK humanitarian aid to Yemen that has been prevented from entering Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition. However, we continue to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to allow and facilitate rapid and safe humanitarian access.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the value of UK humanitarian aid to Yemen that has been prevented from entering Yemen by Houthi forces in the last 12 months.

Rory Stewart: We have not made an estimate of the value of UK humanitarian aid to Yemen that has been prevented from entering Yemen by Houthi forces. However, we continue to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to allow and facilitate rapid and safe humanitarian access.

Department for International Development: Migrant Workers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many and what proportion of people employed by her Department are from other EU countries.

Rory Stewart: All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

Africa: Overseas Aid

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what school or nutrition programmes for children in Africa specifically linked to locally produced foods and agroecological production her Department supports.

James Wharton: DFID links local food production into nutrition programmes in several African countries. For example, DFID invested in Rwanda in local production of complementary food which is reducing stunting among children aged between 6-23 months, and in Malawi in the production of groundnuts that are locally processed into children’s therapeutic food. DFID’s support for the Purchase from Africans for Africa project links local producers to school feeding, with 72,000 children and 16,000 farmers benefiting in five African countries. DFID also works with specialised humanitarian agencies to stimulate local sourcing for food aid programmes across Africa.

Africa: Agriculture

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of her Department's overseas aid supports research and development of agroecological farming in Africa.

James Wharton: DFID does not collect data on agro-ecological farming as a distinct spending category. Agro-ecological farming covers a breadth of approaches which DFID supports through a wide range of research and development programmes including on soil and water conservation, improved land-use management, climate resilience and conservation agriculture. UK support in these areas contributes to the UK International Climate Fund commitments and wider international development goals in Africa.

Africa: Agriculture

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, (a) how much and (b) what proportion of her Department's overseas aid is used to support food production in Africa.

James Wharton: The UK supports food production in Africa by funding agricultural research, stimulating investment and trade and linking farmers to markets to help them exit poverty while increasing food availability.Data on UK support to food production in Africa are not readily available. UK bilateral assistance to agriculture quadrupled between 2010 and 2015 to £300 million or 3.9% of the bilateral aid budget. Of this, £129 million was earmarked for Africa and an additional £93 million to global initiatives including Africa.

Burma: Rohingya

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK aid to Myanmar reaches the Rohingya people in the Rakhine State.

Rory Stewart: The UK remains deeply concerned by the ongoing persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State and allegations of human rights abuses. UK Ministers and our Ambassador have called on both civilian and military Minsters in the Government to urge a restrained security response, an independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses, and for the immediate resumption of access for humanitarian aid. The Government of Burma has committed to restoring humanitarian access and investigating allegations of human rights abuses. Humanitarian access has improved somewhat but some restrictions on travel for international staff and on conducting needs assessments remain in place, affecting the quality and quantity of assistance that can be provided. The UK continues to raise these issues with the government of Burma at every available opportunity.The UK does not provide funding directly to the Government of Burma.

Burma: Politics and Government

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government and Civil Society programme run by her Department in Myanmar.

Rory Stewart: DFID Burma has a range of governance and civil society programming, including: electoral and parliamentary strengthening work and early support on civil service and judiciary reform through the Programme for Democratic Change; support for Public Financial Management in conjunction with the World Bank; support to Burma’s census; and programming to strengthen civil society quality and engagement with government. All programmes are reviewed annually as part of routine programme management, with reports available on the DFID website. All have received A or A+ ratings in the past three years.

Department for International Development: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff have been seconded to her Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Accenture, (d) McKinsey & Co, (f) Ernst and Young and (g) Bain & Company since July 2016.

Rory Stewart: DFID has not seconded anyone in from PwC, Deloitte, Accenture, McKinsey & Co, Ernst and Young or Bain & Company since July 2016.

Palestinians: Education

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to review her Department's spending on all education projects in the Palestine authority to ensure those projects meet her Department's criteria.

Rory Stewart: The UK’s bilateral funding to the Palestinian Authority education sector only goes to support the salaries of vetted teachers and public servants. Our support is helping around 25,000 young Palestinians go to school each year.. The UK is about to assess performance of this past year’s support with the Palestinian Authority, including progress against the Partnership Principles, and tackling incitement in education. DFID OPTs regularly monitors programme performance, including through annual reviews. The Minister of State has also personally reviewed our educational programs on his most recent visit to Palestine and will be contributing to our portfolio review.

Humanitarian Aid

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of her Department's humanitarian aid budget was disbursed for (a) one year, (b) two years and (c) three years or more in each of the last three years.

Rory Stewart: Due to the nature of Humanitarian Responses, DFID cannot always allocate humanitarian budgets in advance. However, over the last three budget periods DFID’s spend on humanitarian aid was allocated as follows (rounded to the nearest 5%):65 per cent to projects with an operational period of 3 years or more30 per cent was to projects with an operational period of two yearsand5 per cent was to projects with an operational period of one year.

Malawi: Fisheries

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing financial support to increase the level of activity at the fisheries research laboratory in Monkey Bay, Malawi.

James Wharton: The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting Malawi to diversify its economy, improve inclusive growth and eradicate extreme poverty. My Department has not made an assessment of the merits of providing support to the fisheries research laboratory in Monkey Bay. However, a new programme of agricultural support is currently in design and assessing potential options for UK support, including on fisheries.

Department for International Development: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 66402, at what pay grades the 640 senior responsible owners (SROs) are employed; and at what pay grades the staff in the team of each of those SROs are employed.

Rory Stewart: The current breakdown of DFID’s Senior Responsible Owners is shown below:GradePercentage of SROsSCS2%A Band/G6, G7 and SEO89%B Band/HEO and EO9% A typical programme team is likely to include a Senior Civil Servant, around five A band staff and two B band staff.

Yemen: Famine

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government plans to take to prevent famine in Yemen.

Rory Stewart: The UK has committed over £100 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen for 2016/17, making us the fourth largest donor to the country. This contribution has so far supported 462,000 people with food or food vouchers, and 889,000 women and children with nutrition interventions. We plan to make another significant contribution in 2017/18

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government has taken to encourage the Saudi-led coalition to open up aid access to Yemen via unblocking Hodeida port and opening up airspace.

Rory Stewart: The UK continues to lobby all parties to the conflict to facilitate commercial and humanitarian access, and is supporting the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Humanitarian Air Service to improve access for humanitarian agencies.

Overseas Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Prosperity Fund and Conflict Security and Stabilisation Fund contribute to the delivery of her Department's fourth objective in the Single Departmental Plan 2015 to 2020.

Rory Stewart: DFID is working with other Government Departments in support of the fight against extreme poverty to help ensure cross government funds tackle instability, drive prosperity, invest in research and development, and meet the essential needs of poor people.

Overseas Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what relative priority her Department places on each of the objectives in its Single Departmental Plan 2015 to 2020.

Rory Stewart: The Department intends to deliver effectively against all four strategic objectives set out in the Single Departmental Plan.

Department for Education

Schools: Hampshire

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make an assessment of the effect on educational (a) provision and (b) outcomes of the physical condition of the 1960s Second Consortium of Local Authorities schools in (i) Hampshire and (ii) North East Hampshire.

Nick Gibb: The Education Funding Agency (EFA) will collect information on the condition of Second Consortium of Local Authorities (SCOLA) school buildings in Hampshire and North East Hampshire as part of the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme. The CDC will run from 2017 to autumn 2019 and is a high-level, visual and non-invasive collection of consistent condition information for all government funded schools in England. It is the successor to the Property Data Survey (PDS) which collected condition information on the education estate between 2012 and 2014.The CDC will assess the condition of school buildings and how they have changed since the PDS but it will not provide any assessment of the effect on educational provision or outcomes. The CDC will provide the EFA with an improved and up to date evidence base which will help inform future funding allocations and help direct investment to the areas with the greatest condition need. It will also help identify school buildings for inclusion in future rebuilding programmes and help those responsible for maintaining buildings develop their building management data.In most cases, CDC condition information will be made available to a school and its responsible body within 8-10 weeks of the school’s site visit.

Schools: Wolverhampton North East

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate the Government's new schools funding formula has made of the level of deprivation in Wolverhampton North East constituency.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the (a) gain and (b) loss of funding for each primary school in (i) Wolverhampton North East constituency and (ii) City of Wolverhampton local authority in (A) the first year, (B) two years and (C) five years after implementation of the new funding formula.

Nick Gibb: Our proposals for funding reform will mean that schools and local authorities will, for the first time, receive a consistent and fair share of the schools budget, so that they can give every child the opportunity to reach their full potential. We have been consulting on our proposals since December 2016 through an extensive 14 week consultation, including publishing detailed impact data for all schools in England. Our proposals will target money towards pupils who face entrenched barriers to their education, such as those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who live in areas of deprivation. The percentage of pupils living in deprived areas (measured by IDACI) and pupils eligible for free school meals, in both the constituency and England, is shown in the table below.Pupil characteristicWolverhampton North EastNational averageIDACI A-F Primary85%45%IDACI A-F Secondary80%43%FSM Primary27%15%FSM Secondary25%14% As a result of our proposals, in the first year of the formula, Wolverhampton local authority would see an overall cash increase in schools funding of 0.8%. Illustrative allocations for the second year of the formula have been not been calculated, but by the time of full implementation of the formula, Wolverhampton schools would see cash gains of 2.4%. For schools in Wolverhampton North East, the proposals would mean an overall cash increase of 1.1%, or £0.7 million. 85% of the primary schools in Wolverhampton local authority and 67% of the primary schools in Wolverhampton North East would gain funding as a result of our proposals. Schools that are due to gain funding will do so quickly, with increases of up to 3% in per pupil funding in 2018-19 and a further 2.5% in 2019-20. No school will lose more than 1.5% per year or 3% overall per pupil as a result of our formula. Illustrative allocations for all primary schools in Wolverhampton local authority in the first year of the formula and full implementation are shown in the attached table. 



NFF_LA_Table
(PDF Document, 94.37 KB)

Department for Education: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff have been seconded to her Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Accenture, (d) McKinsey & Co, (f) Ernst and Young and (g) Bain & Company since July 2016.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department has no central record of any staff having been seconded to it from PwC, Deloitte, Accenture, McKinsey & Co, Ernst and Young or Bain & Company since July 2016. It is not possible to verify that there are no secondees from these organisations, as secondments can be agreed by individual managers and may not always be notified to the central HR team.

Schools: St Helens North

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the school funding formula on the level of funding for schools in St Helens North constituency.

Nick Gibb: We are currently consulting on a national funding formula for schools, and I am engaging widely with honourable members, head teachers, and other representatives on how the proposed formula would affect their areas. Our proposals for funding reform will mean that schools will, for the first time, receive a consistent and fair share of the schools budget, so that they can give every child the opportunity to reach their full potential. As part of the consultation, we have published impact data of the proposed national funding formulae at school-level for all schools in England on GOV.UK.   As a result of our proposals, St Helens North constituency would see an overall increase in schools funding of 1.9%. On funding for pupils with high needs, St. Helens local authority would see an increase of 1.9%. The current consultation is open until 22 March, and we are keen to hear views from as many schools, governors, local authorities, and parents as possible. We will publish our response to the consultation, including details of representations received, in due course.

Baverstock Academy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2017 to Question 64307, on Baverstock Academy, if she will publish her Department's review of the conditions at Baverstock Academy and the reasons those conditions posed a risk to interested sponsors.

Edward Timpson: The Department will not be publishing anything in regards to the condition at Baverstock Academy. The Ofsted reports, the Financial Notice to Improve issued on 13 November 2015, and the Trust’s annual reports / financial statements are publicly available documents that provide an overall picture of the issues facing the academy trust. Potential sponsors would also have considered these documents and the following criteria in their due diligence and assessment of risks; current and projected pupil numbers; the quality of teaching and learning; overall financial position, condition of the buildings, and staffing numbers.The primary objective of the department in making any decision about the future of Baverstock Academy is to secure value for money for the taxpayer whilst ensuring the best possible educational outcomes for the pupils and parents.

Baverstock Academy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2017 to Question 64307, on Baverstock Academy, on how many occasions her Department has refused a sponsor because of the risk a school poses to that sponsor.

Edward Timpson: Although the Department holds detailed information on individual cases we do not record it in a way that allows us to quantify in how many instances a proposal for a sponsor to take on a failing school has not been approved because of the potential risk to the sponsor’s performance and financial health.Regional Schools Commissioners are responsible for taking decisions on the creation and growth of Multi Academy Trusts. As such, they will take into account a number of factors about the capacity of the sponsor before reaching a decision to allow them to take on a failing school.More information on this is detailed in the Regional schools commissioners decision-making framework (published April 2016) and in Multi-academy trusts: good practice guidance and expectations of growth (published December 2016), both are on gov.uk.

Children's Centres

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 65657, on children's centres, from which local authorities the amount recovered in 2015 was received.

Caroline Dinenage: Pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2017 to Question 65657, the amount of £88,642 was recovered from Northamptonshire County Council in 2015.

Schools: Standards

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authority schools have been placed in special measures by Ofsted in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of inspected schools were placed in such measures by Ofsted in each of those years.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Free School Meals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of auto-registration for free school meals on the (a) uptake of free school meals and (b) amount of pupil premium funding allocated to schools.

Edward Timpson: We are determined to give every child, regardless of their background, the very best start in life. Both free school meals (FSM) and the pupil premium (which links to FSM eligibility) are key to this, and we want all parents whose children are entitled to free school meals to apply for them. The current eligibility criteria for free school meals requires the parent (or pupil) to be both in receipt of a specified benefit and to make a request for the meal to be provided free of charge. To support this, the Department for Education provides an electronic Eligibility Checking System (ECS), which allows local authorities to quickly check data held by DWP, the Home Office and HMRC in order to establish FSM eligibility. The Department has also provided a model registration form and accompanying guidance which schools can use as part of their enrolment process. We want to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility for FSM, and the Department is looking at what can be done in the longer term to make the FSM registration processes even more efficient.

Pupil Exclusions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2017 to Question 66856, on pupil exclusions, how many directions she has issued to a governing body identified as acting unlawfully or unreasonably in carrying out its legal duties in relation to exclusions in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not routinely collect data on this point.

Teachers: Cambridgeshire

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the extent of teacher shortages in Cambridgeshire.

Nick Gibb: At a national level, we are retaining and recruiting the teachers we need. We recognise that the strengthening labour market and growth in pupil numbers have made recruiting or retaining staff more challenging for schools in certain circumstances and locations. We have undertaken research to understand the issues underpinning these differences and are now commissioning labour market analysis in a selection of more localised areas of the country to improve our understanding of supply problems in these areas.

Primary Education: Standards

Jeremy Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve the quality of primary education.

Nick Gibb: We have placed phonics at the heart of the early teaching of reading as we want all children to be fluent readers by the time they leave primary school. Results from this year’s phonics screening check show that, since its introduction in 2012, over 147,000 more six year olds are now on track to become excellent readers. We are also investing £41m to enable primary schools to introduce highly effective south-east Asian mastery teaching methods, and we introduced a new more rigorous primary curriculum in 2014 raising standards in reading, writing and maths throughout the primary school phase.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

BBC: Music

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the breadth of sources of music broadcast by the BBC.

Matt Hancock: As part of the Government's BBC Charter Review, it commissioned a report from Oliver and Ohlbaum Associates on BBC's market impact and distinctiveness. The report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/504012/FINAL_-_BBC_market_impact_assessment.pdf The Government is also clear that it wants to embed distinctiveness within the mission and purposes of the BBC. In terms of radio output, this includes improving the focus on promoting UK talent, particularly new UK acts, on Radio 1 and Radio 2. Ofcom, as the BBC's new regulator, will set the operating licence for BBC UK Public Services and will consult on these in due course.

Television: Journalism

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the level of fake news on terrestrial television.

Matt Hancock: Under the Communications Act 2003, as reflected in Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code, all television and radio broadcasters licensed by Ofcom must ensure that their news output is duly accurate and duly impartial. Ofcom robustly enforces these obligations. In 2016 it recorded three breaches of Rule 5.1, which requires due accuracy and due impartiality of news output. One breach was in relation to a radio service and two involved television services. Ofcom regularly publishes details of its content standards decisions, including breaches, on its website.

Government Contracts

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2017 to Question 66974, on Government contracts, who the experts on that panel were; for what reasons those experts were chosen to serve on that panel; and how frequently that panel met.

Mr Rob Wilson: In accordance with the recommendation in Lord Young's report, a review of central government's approach to implementing the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 has been undertaken in preparation for a cross Whitehall paper, with input from a range of external stakeholders invited for their expertise in the field. This forms part of a wider review of the act I announced on 9th February and further details will be announced in due course.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Written Statements

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the reasons were for the time taken by her Department to lay Written Ministerial Statement HCWS533, on the EU-US Umbrella Agreement.

Matt Hancock: Following the conclusion of the EU-US Umbrella Agreement, a formal request for a Written Ministerial Statement was received from the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee in January. Government clearance procedures allowed this statement to be laid on March 14th.

Email

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2017 to Question 66775, what responsibility email account service providers have to return data to consumers when their services end.

Matt Hancock: We expect providers responsibly to manage the way that consumers receive data when their services end, and expect providers to give their customers sufficient notice of the closure of services. Organisations that process personal data in the UK must comply Data Protection Act’s (DPA) eight data protection principles. These include requiring personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully; to be accurate and up-to-date; not to be kept for longer than is necessary; and to be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects under the DPA. Failure to comply with the Act is an offence. Further information about these obligations can be found on the ICO’s website at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/

Public Libraries: Complaints

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2017 to Question 67236, on public libraries: complaints, if she will publish the number of complaints that (a) have and (b) have not been treated as formal by local authority area in each year since 2010.

Mr Rob Wilson: Since 2010, the Department has investigated 15 local authorities in response to complaints raised about whether an authority is failing to carry out its duties imposed on it, by or under, the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.Not every item of correspondence received about library service changes or library closures is treated as a complaint within scope of section 10(1)(a) of the 1964 Act. Correspondence that is considered trivial, vexatious or lacking in evidence would be considered as not falling within the scope of section 10(1)(a). The Department does not maintain records of the number of correspondence received about library service changes for each local authority in England.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of Civil Service positions in her Department was vacant for a week or longer in each year since 2010; and what the average turnover rate for civil servants in her Department has been in each year since 2010.

George Eustice: The answer covers the core department only. Defra does not retain details in the Department on the length of time that a post has been vacant. The average turnover for Defra since 2010 is shown below: Calendar yearTurnover20109.2%201116.8%20128.4%20138.0%20149.7%201515.3%2016*22.0% * Turnover data for 2016 is provisional as Defra is verifying leaver numbers. All leavers for the 12 month period (except those moving under a Machinery of Government change or those transferring to a Defra Agency or NDPB) divided by the average staff in post over the period. The average turnover covers those staff who left the department as a result of retirement, resignation, dismissal, redundancy, voluntary paid exit, ending a period of secondment, loan, short or fixed term appointment, transfer to another government department (not as part of a Machinery of Government change) and death in service.

Roads: Trees

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the importance of street trees in reducing urban pollution; and what plans she has to increase the number of street trees in the forthcoming air quality plan being prepared by her Department.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government’s plans for tackling air quality are set out in the national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide, which was published in December 2015 and will be revised by 31 July this year. The Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) is considering further the evidence around the potential of trees to contribute to improvements in air quality to inform our further policy development. The AQEG is an Expert Committee to Defra that provides independent scientific advice on air quality.

Ash Dieback Disease

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help those local authorities most affected by ash dieback.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are working closely with local authorities to help them deal with the impacts of ash dieback by supporting them to be prepared and by providing guidance. Infected ash trees can survive dieback for many years, continuing to provide recreational and biodiversity benefits, and could provide a source of disease tolerance in the future. For this very reason we are not encouraging the removal of infected ash unless it poses an immediate health and safety risk. To ensure that the issue of health and safety is addressed we have convened an ash dieback taskforce with a number of key stakeholders and local authorities, of which Suffolk, Norfolk and Kent County Council are members. We are working closely with this group to develop action plans for local authorities and supplement existing guidance for landowners, such as that published by the National Tree Safety Group.

Ash Dieback Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to plant non-woodland trees to replace those trees lost to ash dieback.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As part of our programme of research on ash dieback we have commissioned the Tree Council to undertake work on ash dieback in non-woodland settings. Through this, we are working closely with stakeholders to develop local action plans to support landowners to deal with the impacts of the ash dieback in non-woodland trees, including at the recovery phase. We are also providing more guidance and support for landowners by, for example, supplementing existing guidance such as that published by the National Tree Safety Group.

Marine Environment: Sewage

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to reduce marine environment pollution caused by sewage processing.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Pollution caused by sewage is mainly addressed through the implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations, which have set standards for the collection and treatment of sewage since 1994. Since privatisation around £9 billion has been invested to reduced pollution from sewage treatment with much of this focusing on discharges in coastal areas. In England, between 2015 and 2020, water companies are investing over £2 billion to improve their sewerage infrastructure, guided by the requirements of the Environment Agency. This includes investment to improve coastal sewage treatment works and collecting systems with the aim of reducing the polluting impact of sewage discharges on the marine environment.

Fisheries: Scotland

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving powers to the Scottish Government in advance of the Great Repeal Bill in order to promote mixed fisheries opportunities and reactive positive stock management.

George Eustice: Marine Scotland is already responsible for controlling the activities of all fishing vessels operating within the Scottish zone, as defined by the Fishery Limits Act 1976 and the Scotland Act 1998.

Fisheries

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that the UK negotiates future fisheries management as an independent coastal state.

George Eustice: As a coastal state outside the EU, the UK will be responsible, under international law, for controlling UK waters and the sustainable management of fisheries resources within the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The UK will negotiate as an independent coastal state.

Zoos: Closures

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times zoos have been closed by local authorities in the last 20 years; and for what reasons those zoos were closed.

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether a zoo containing more than 1,000 animals has been closed by a local authority in the last 30 years.

George Eustice: This information, on closures, would be held by local authorities and not collected centrally. Under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, there is no requirement for local authorities to report the closure of a zoo of any size to the Department.

Zoos: Regulation

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department last conducted a review of the framework for the statutory regulation of zoos.

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations her Department has received from local authorities on the effectiveness and scope of current zoo regulations.

George Eustice: The Zoos Expert Committee (ZEC) provides independent, technical advice to the UK Governments on zoo matters. The ZEC keeps the operation and implementation of the zoo licensing system in the UK under review and advises Defra and devolved governments of any legislative or administrative changes that may be required. Membership of the ZEC includes representatives of local authorities who provide ongoing advice on the operation of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. The ZEC will also, if necessary, seek and receive representations from any local authority with knowledge of enforcing the zoo licensing system. Defra commissioned a study in 2010 to review the effectiveness of local authorities’ implementation of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. The report was published in 2011 and found no strong evidence of a need for legislative change.   Following the recent case in Cumbria, Lord Gardiner will be discussing, with ZEC, whether any further steps need to be taken to ensure animal welfare.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2017 to Question 66880, what information her Department holds on the number and value of individual payments which were not paid within the basic payment scheme window since 30 June 2016; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: 1,729 claimants received payments of around £50 million which were made outside the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 window which ran between 1 December 2015 and 30 June 2016. Payments made between January 2016 and June 2016 were paid within the scheme window. That is why the answer to this question is the same as the answer to Question 66880.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) value of EU disallowance penalties incurred for late payments by the Rural Payments Agency of basic payments between 1 December 2015 and 30 June 2016; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The value of any late payment penalties relating to the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme will not be known until Summer 2017, when they are due to be calculated by the European Commission based on the latest payment data from across the UK.

Floods: Property Development

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help facilitate research into can-float flood resilient buildings for infill development in flood risk zones.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra is not undertaking research in this area though we understand that various organizations, such as Building Research Establishment (BRE), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Baca architectural partnership are already engaged in this area. We are continuing to explore with the industry more widely on how people could be incentivised to take action to manage their flood risk. We recently published the Property Flood Resilience Action Plan. The group has set up task groups in specific areas to examine detailed issues.

Marine Environment: Sustainable Development

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Ministers of her Department will be representing the UK at the High-Level UN Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 in New York on 5 to 9 June 2017.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: No decisions have yet been taken on who will represent the UK at the High-Level UN Conference to support implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14.

Marine Environment: Sustainable Development

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what actions she plans to recommend to the High-Level UN Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 in New York on 5 to 9 June 2017.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Working with the European Union and other Member States we will use this conference to reiterate our commitment to deliver healthy and productive oceans. To achieve this we will press for continued collaboration through the use of existing regional organisations, such as Regional Seas Conventions and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. We will also aim to secure progress on marine pollution (including marine litter), implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and on a new internationally legally binding instrument under the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea. This will cover measures such as area based management tools (including marine protected areas), environmental impact assessments, capacity building and the transfer of marine technology, and marine genetic resources including questions on the sharing of benefits.

Plastic Bags

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has received on the merits of banning all plastic bags in pursuit of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 on conservation and sustainable use of the marine environment.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We have received representations from the French Government to join a coalition to build a political impetus towards the elimination of single-use plastic bags. The associated declaration makes clear that this goal can be achieved through a variety of measures. Our 5p charge on single use carrier bags is a good example of how we are contributing towards a reduction in the use of single-use plastic bags.

Marine Environment: Sustainable Development

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government has taken towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 on conservation and sustainable use of the marine environment since January 2016.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is currently developing a report outlining the UK’s contribution to delivering the Goals domestically and internationally. The report will be published in due course.

Salmon: Conservation

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2016 to Question 56672, on salmon: conservation, when fisheries representatives will be informed of the outcomes from the multi-organisation working groups.

George Eustice: Good progress continues to be made on the Five Point Approach to Salmon and the Environment Agency will be reporting on progress this autumn. Priority is currently directed towards an informal byelaw consultation, which will commence in April and will focus on all salmon rod and net fisheries in England. The Environment Agency wishes to fully understand the consequences of all the options which will be proposed in the informal consultation to evaluate their effectiveness to individual river salmon stocks. The Environment Agency will consider the responses over the summer with a view to advertising any new byelaws in October 2017. Interested fisheries representatives will be able to respond to this consultation process. The outcomes of the informal consultation and progress on the other four work streams of the Five Point Approach will be covered in the autumn progress report.

Salmon: Conservation

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2016 to Question 56672, on salmon: conservation, what reporting mechanisms the Environment Agency has in place to ensure that regular updates on progress are made.

George Eustice: Annex 1 of the ‘Salmon Five Point Approach – restoring salmon in England’ sets out a series of commitments and delivery timescales. All of the multi-agency groups report internally to the Environment Agency as agreed in their individual project plans. In addition, at the end of this year, the Environment Agency plans to produce an update on the total progress made on the Five Point Approach.

Fish

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the total value of fish (a) imports and (b) exports to and from (i) other countries inside and (ii) outside the EU in each of the last 10 years.

George Eustice: The information requested on the total value of trade in fish and fish products (excluding fish oils, fish flour and meals) taken from the information collected by HM Revenue and Customs is given in the table below, for the ten years of 2006 to 2015 inclusive. Comparable data for trade in 2016 is not yet available. Value of UK trade in fish and fish products (£million - exc. Fish oils and fish flour and meals)Imports into the UK From:Exports from the UK to: EU Non-EUTotal importsEU Non-EUTotal exports2006556.11365.51921.6790.9153.0943.92007621.71372.21993.9805.8176.3982.02008665.41544.62210.1824.8184.71009.42009644.51532.72177.2899.6266.51166.12010699.01555.72254.71010.8335.01345.72011802.91755.72558.61054.6409.41463.92012799.01771.02570.0937.4406.51343.92013848.81908.22757.0972.1488.21460.32014849.11888.72737.81014.2552.01566.32015842.61830.42673.0921.1416.31337.3

Agriculture

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the budget to maintain agricultural sector funding at the equivalent Pillar 1 levels under the CAP from when the UK leaves the EU until 2020 will be managed and delivered from her Department's resource budget; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government has guaranteed that the agricultural sector will receive the same level of funding that it would have received under Pillar 1 of the Common Agricultural Policy until the end of the Multi-Annual Financial Framework in 2020. No decisions have yet been taken about how that budget will be managed in the period between the UK leaving the EU and 2020.

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the UK's approved funding allocation will be through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in each year to 2020; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The UK was allocated €243 million in the current programme for the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), with €45 million for enforcement, €52 million for data collection, €19 million for aquaculture and €127 million for other investments. The Government has guaranteed access to these funds up until the point we leave the EU.

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government's policy is on maintaining an equivalent level of funding as that received through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund after the UK has left the EU; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: Defra officials will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU to look at future policies for fisheries. We will continue to work closely with relevant industry and other key stakeholders to develop these new arrangements. As part of this work consideration will be given to support provided to the fisheries community.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with (a) registered charities and (b) businesses the on drafting of the White Paper, The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union, Cm 9417, published in February 2017.

Mr David Jones: The White Paper sets out the Government's approach to forging a new strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and the EU.We have pursued a wide-ranging programme of engagement since the Department was created and we are speaking to a wide range of organisations.This includes charitable organisations, in order to build a national consensus around our negotiating position, establish their priorities and understand their concerns. Details of Ministerial Meetings will be published in the Department's Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

Brexit

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with the Office for Civil Society on the drafting of the White Paper, entitled The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union, Cm 9417, published in February 2017.

Mr Robin Walker: The White Paper sets out the Government's approach to forging a new strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and the EU. The Department for Exiting the European Union coordinates policy work across Government and works closely with officials in departments on all of its work, including the White Paper.

Charities

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he plans to meet registered charities ahead of negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Jones: We have pursued a wide-ranging programme of engagement since the Department was created and we are speaking to a wide range of organisations. This includes charitable organisations, in order to build a national consensus around our negotiating position, establish their priorities and understand their concerns. Details of Ministerial Meetings will be published in the Department's Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

Charities

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with registered charities on the future of the charity sector in England and Wales after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr David Jones: We have pursued a wide-ranging programme of engagement since the Department was created and we are speaking to a wide range of organisations. This includes charitable organisations, in order to build a national consensus around our negotiating position, establish their priorities and understand their concerns. Details of Ministerial Meetings will be published in the Department's Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK

Department for Exiting the European Union: Migrant Workers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many and what proportion of people employed by his Department are from other EU countries.

Mr Robin Walker: ​All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

UK Trade with EU

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on the potential role of equivalence agreements in future trading relationships with the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: Cabinet discussions are confidential. However, the whole Government is focused on seeking to negotiate a bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement with the EU, which will include free-flowing trade in both goods and services. Currently, we have unprecedented levels of regulatory convergence with other EU Member States. That forms a strong starting point for a discussion about access to each other's markets.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of Civil Service positions in the Law Officers' Departments was vacant for a week or longer in each year since 2010; and what the average turnover rate for civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments has been in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) retains records on recruitment vacancies from 1 June 2014. From 1 June 2014, 100% of vacancies remained vacant for a period in excess of five working days.The rest of the Law Officers’ Departments do not hold information about the number of positions that have been vacant for a week or longer. Such a situation arises frequently, for example, when an individual moves post and there is a gap of a week or more before his or her successor takes up post. AGOGLDHMCPSICPSSFO01/04/2010 – 31/03/201147.23%12.53%13.00%8.6%11.9%01/04/2011 – 31/03/201226.14%13.11%21.03%9.775%14.8%01/04/2012 – 31/03/201327.88%9.78%20.03%8.925%18.8%01/04/2013 – 31/03/201431.76%13.48%24.05%12.3%14.04%01/04/2014 – 31/03/201542.45%9.83%22.16%11.05%14%01/04/2015 – 31/03/201642.22%8.89%12.04%9.35%14%*The majority of staff based at the Attorney General’s Office are on loan to the department for a period of two to three years and return to their home department at the end of their loan. This business model also operates in HMCPSI although to a lesser degree than AGO

Hate Crime: Prosecutions

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Attorney General, what recent progress has been made in increasing the prosecution rate for disability hate crime offences.

Jeremy Wright: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to tackling disability hate crime and is prosecuting, and convicting, more defendants for disability hate crimes than ever before. In 2015/16, the CPS completed 941 disability hate crime prosecutions, an increase from 666 the previous year and the conviction rate has remained steady at 75%.The CPS delivered mandatory face to face disability hate crime training between September 2015 and January 2016 to support prosecutors to more effectively deal with disability hate crime cases.

Attorney General: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Attorney General, what the average response rate was of the Law Officers' Departments to individual Freedom of Information requests in each month since July 2016.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is detailed in the following table. The percentage figure shows how many Freedom of Information requests were answered on time.Data for February and March 2017 has not been provided as the majority of requests received in these months are still being processed.HMCPSI did not receive any FOI requests in August, September and December 2016, or in January 2017.  July 2016Aug 2016Sept 2016Oct 2016Nov 2016Dec 2016Jan 2017GLD98%100%100%100%100%100%100%AGO93%100%100%100%100%94%100%HMCPSI100%N/AN/A100%100%N/AN/ACPS85%94%97%93%96%94%95%SFO80%100%100%100%94%100%89%

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: ICT

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much her Department spent on (a) iPads and tablets and (b) paper in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dr Phillip Lee: (a). Please see below the iPad and tablets spend in each year since 2012 is set out below: FYSpend2012/13£19,903.922013/14£38,288.772014/15£68,104.652015/16£202,281.412016/17£646,882.04Information on department spend on paper is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to answer Questions (a) 55553 on prison sentences: Lancashire, tabled on 30 November 2016, (b) 62826 on Members: correspondence, tabled on 21 February 2017 and (c) 64827 on electronic tagging, tabled on 21 February 2017 by the hon. Member for Preston; and whether she plans to respond to the letter on Questions 55553 and 64827 sent by email and post by the hon. Member for Preston on 3 March 2017.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Question 55553 on prison sentences: Lancashire was answered on 09 March 2017. Question 62826 is not a PQ that was tabled to the Ministry of Justice. The department assumes the hon. Member for Preston was referring to 64826 on Members correspondence which was answered on 15 March 2017, question 64827 on electronic tagging was answered on 16 March 2017. The Secretary of State has responded to the letter on Questions 55553 and 64827 sent by email and post via letter on Friday 17 March 2017.

Prisons: Electronic Equipment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2017 to Question 61344 on prisons: electronic equipment, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) game consoles and (b) televisions in prisons.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Some 19,000 television sets were issued to public sector prisons in the 12 month period ending on 28 February 2017. This is fairly standard and costs are recovered from the rental payments made by prisoners. However, information on the numbers of games consoles and televisions in use within prisons is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for (a) personal independence payments, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) incapacity benefit, (d) disability living allowance and (e) disability living allowance for adults that were refused at mandatory consideration were (i) appealed, (ii) subsequently overturned at tribunal and (iii) dismissed at tribunal in (A) Blackburn constituency, (B) local authorities in Lancashire and (C) the UK in each year since 2011.

Sir Oliver Heald: This information is not held centrally. Information about the number and outcomes of Social Security and Child Support appeals is published on gov.uk. The most recent statistics, for the period October to December 2016, can be viewed at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2016.

Prisons: Education

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 65939, whether she plans that prisoners following a prison education regime will be tested in line with the core common curriculum set nationally by accredited examination boards; and whether it is her policy that the results of prisoner examinations at GCSE or A-level will be considered in national education averages and in national examination grade curves.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Improving levels of education is an important goal for offenders. As well as applying our maths and English focussed core common curriculum which will be set nationally, prison governors will be encouraged to work with local employers and use labour market data to choose the right vocational training to help offenders into employment. Vocational and other qualifications can play an important part in communicating an individual’s competences in a clear and reliable way and acting as signposts for the progress he or she has made. Where it makes sense to accredit education and vocational training delivered in custody through the award of a qualification, the appropriate awarding body’s curriculum will be used to prepare the learner for the end assessment leading to the award of that qualification. GCSEs, A levels or other qualifications where studied for and achieved by adults in prisons are not included in the performance tables or national averages published by the Department for Education. Some prisoners are released on temporary licence to study at local Colleges: where a prisoner aged 18 is enrolled in learning with a mainstream provider outside the prison, qualifications achieved are included in the performance tables and national averages. All learners that take the GCSE or A Level qualification, including those taken in custody, are considered in national examination grade curves. Their results are included within the Joint Council for Qualifications’ published figures in the summer following the exams. Although the setting of the boundaries is informed by the subset of students that are matched to their prior attainment, which is not always possible with adult learners, the boundaries apply to all students. We intend, in future, to measure education and training in prisons by assessing a prisoner’s progress against milestones set out in their Personal Learning Plan, itself an element of the overall sentence plan. Studying for a GCSE or an A level should be part of a Personal Learning Plan where such study is appropriate. If such study is on the learner’s individual plan as a milestone, the prison’s governor will be accountable for performance towards its achievement

Courts: Video Conferencing

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hearings and trials involving a video link or similar technology in the last year experienced problems related to that technology; and what the estimated cost was of those disruptions.

Sir Oliver Heald: Video links were operational and available in courts at an average of 99.54% per month over the last year. No data is available for the cost associated with non-availability. We have a world-leading legal system and are investing over £1 billion to reform and digitise our courts to deliver swifter justice. Technology is at the forefront of our reforms and telephone and video hearings as well as online solutions, will make access to justice easier and reduce dependence on the court estate.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hearings and trials across the HM Courts and Tribunal Service estate used a video link or similar technology in the last 12 months.

Sir Oliver Heald: During the 12 month period to February 2017, a total of 143,043 video links were used for criminal hearings and trials. This represents a 14% increase since 2014/15. Data on the number of video links used in the family courts, civil courts and tribunals is not held centrally. The Government is committed to maximising the appropriate use of virtual hearings across all jurisdictions, as part of our £1bn reforms to the courts and tribunals.

Ministry of Justice: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff have been seconded to her Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Accenture, (d) McKinsey & Co, (f) Ernst and Young and (g) Bain & Company since July 2016.

Dr Phillip Lee: Ministry of Justice records show that there were no secondments to the Department from a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Accenture, (d) McKinsey & Co, (f) Ernst & Young and (g) Bain & Company since July 2016.

Crime: Victims

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on developing the terms of reference for the 12 month review of the workings of the victims' code.

Dr Phillip Lee: I refer the Honourable Member to my answer of 9 February to her previous questions and the statement made by the Minister of State for the Home Office, Baroness Williams of Trafford, in the Other Place on 18 January. These set out the issues with the Victims’ Code that we are considering as we develop our strategy for victims. The strategy, and details of appropriate action that we will take to give effect to it, will be set out by January 2018.As the Honourable Member is aware I have started engaging with victims and victims’ groups on the strategy. On 14 March we both attended the cross-party Victims’ Forum, convened by Voice4Victims and chaired by Baroness Brinton of Kenardington, and I welcome contributions from the participants.

Ministry of Justice: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer to Question 65003, on procurement, on what pay grades the 172 civil servants employed in the Commercial and Contract Management Directorate are employed; on what pay grades the 100 contract employed by the Legal Aid Agency are employed; and on what pay grades the 218 are employed by the National Offender Management Service employed.

Dr Phillip Lee: The pay grades of the contract staff employed by the commercial and contract management, Legal aid agency and National Offender Management Services directorates are provided in the table below.  CCMD LAA NOMSSCS PB24   1SCS PB18 1 4GRADE 612 3 22GRADE 749 12 29SEO69 82 97HEO16 2 21EO14 5 22AO22 172 105 218

Police Custody: Courts

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many custody suites in courts were closed in 2015-16.

Sir Oliver Heald: Custody suites were closed in six courts during the 2015-16 financial year. Five of these closures were as a consequence of the closure of the courthouse.

Reoffenders

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Serious Further Offence reviews involving (a) the National Probation Service and (b) Community Rehabilitation companies in England and Wales have been conducted since February 2015.

Mr Sam Gyimah: A Serious Further Offence (SFO) review is undertaken where an offender under statutory supervision in the community is charged with a qualifying offence. Not every offender charged with an SFO will eventually be convicted of an SFO. The table below provides a breakdown of the figures of the Serious Further Offence Reviews (SFO) Reviews that were completed following investigations undertaken by a) the National Probation Service (NPS) and b) Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) in England and Wales since February 2015  EnglandWalesTotalNPSCRCNPSCRC1 February 2015  – 31 January 201752943533241021

Prisons: Corruption

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2017 to Question 64699, whether she plans further to increase the number of prison service staff working on investigations into alleged corruption in prisons.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The vast majority of prison staff undertake their duties with honesty and integrity. But this Government is committed to investigating and eliminating corruption, where it exists, to ensure prisons remain a safe and secure environment for staff, prisoners and visitors. A dedicated team of officials work to prevent and tackle corruption, and investigate alleged corruption, across prisons and probation. In addition to this, all prisons have an identified Local Corruption Prevention Manager (LCPM), responsible for developing intelligence, raising awareness of corruption prevention and supporting staff to report any corruption related concerns. And, in support of our commitment to tackle this threat, we have just invested an extra £3 million to improve intelligence analysis and searching capability across prisons and probation – this investment will increase our ability to identify and tackle corruption. A range of measures set out in the recent Prison Safety and Reform White Paper will further bolster our response to driving out corruption in prisons. Our new approach will drive closer working with the police; deliver tougher responses with robust outcomes; and increase support and training for staff. In carrying out this work we will continue to ensure that sufficient resources remain available to tackle the threat now and for the future.

Cabinet Office

Electoral Register

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to give those with no fixed address access to online voter registration.

Chris Skidmore: We are committed to a democracy that works for everyone, including homeless people. I have gathered specific evidence on the registration barriers faced by homeless people as part of my Every Voice Matters tour. We will continue to work with homeless charities such as Shelter to overcome these barriers and help those with no fixed address to register to vote.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2017 to Question 67375, on government responses to written questions, what his definition is of the last administration.

Ben Gummer: The premiership of the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Cameron.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2017 to Question 67375, on government responses to written questions, how long he expects that task of manual checking to take.

Ben Gummer: As I indicated in my previous answer of 14 March (62917), we will provide a definitive answer to the Hon. Member as soon as possible.

Cabinet Office: Databases

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on record management systems in the last five years.

Ben Gummer: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office: Databases

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's records management system.

Ben Gummer: The Department’s records are maintained in accordance with the Public Records Act 1958. The Department is also implementing the recommendations of Sir Alex Allan’s Review of Government Digital Records and the Better Information for Better Government report, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-records-and-archives-review-by-sir-alex-allan https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-information-for-better-government

Companies: Ownership

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the Crown Dependencies to introduce public registers of beneficial ownership.

Chris Skidmore: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Teenage Pregnancy

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many teenage pregnancies there have been in (a) the UK, (b) Greater London and (c) the London Borough of Newham in each year since 2010.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ68182
(PDF Document, 68.91 KB)